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!

All Aboard!

They really do say that!!!! We got off in Galesburg this evening and the conductor stepped outside the train right before leaving and said "all aboard" before getting on and taking off. Overall it was a pleasant experience. I'm glad we knew it was running really behind so we didn't go to Osceola for the whole morning. We got into Galesburg 6 hours behind schedule, but Ryan was there to pick us up. Stephen enjoyed looking out the windows and not having to be buckled in his seat.

Ryan enjoyed being at Tony and Becky's wedding. He got a Cardinals shirt, though; what is he going to do with that?

Stephen crawled a few paces while in Des Moines. But then we got home and he TOOK OFF!! It was hilarious. He gets himself up just fine, crawls over, and just when he is close enough to the toy that he wants, he lunges for it and falls flat on his tummy (what previously happened when he tried to crawl).

Susan looked up Ryan's 11-month measurements. 28 pounds and 30.5 inches. We measured Stephen today since he is now 11 months. 28 pounds and 31 inches.

Eat Your Veggies!

I got this link in my inbox today and thought the pictures were worth taking a look at ... or maybe I'm just hungry.

We're in Des Moines now and have seen quite a bit of family so far. Stephen had a pretty rough day with so much traveling and people and places he is not used to. We'll try to take it easy on him today.

My Little Brother Is Going to Graduate

Lovin' the grass ... it's just hard to keep it out of his mouth!

We're heading out of town tomorrow to go to Des Moines for John's graduation. I know it was 12 years ago for me but I distinctly remember that invigorating excitement that made concentration impossible.

Ryan is experiencing dealing with kids who are antsy to get out of school as he is subbing this week. Yesterday he was at a middle school working with special ed kids. Funny thing happened: He forgot to wear his wedding ring and found that one of the teachers was rather friendly. I told him I understood why! (He remembered to wear his ring today.) Today he is filling in for a history teacher in Urbana.

Stephen is dealing with some seasonal allergies (at least that is what I think is going on!). His eyes are so puffy and he's rubbing them a lot. We are going to see an opthalmologist next week. We also turned our AC on last night because we wondered if having windows open all night was making it worse.

Hearing His Voice

I saw this Scripture illustrated so clearly tonight! . . .

His sheep follow Him because they know His voice John 10:4

In context it talks about how the sheep know the shepherd's voice just as those who follow God know His voice and can distinguish it from the wrong voices.

I was sitting in Stephen's room with him trying to get him ready to go to sleep. Ryan was having a simple conversation with 2 of our friends in the other room. Stephen was sort of looking up at me ... sort of eating ... when his daddy said something really simple and short. It wasn't loud or emphatic or exceptionally clear. Stephen sat up instantly and looked around the room for Ryan. WOW! It really struck me. I heard a lot when I was pregnant about how much the mother's voice is a comfort for a baby. And I am not surprised that he recognizes our voices, but to pick just a few words out of a conversation in another room where 2 men and a woman were talking about shoelaces ... that is amazing to me.

On another note, I have wondered how the media would handle Jerry Falwell's death. It was interesting to me to read this post by David Kuo regarding this famous man.

Happy Mother's Day!

I guess it's my first mother's day. That's what they're telling me anyway :). We were up in the Chicago area for Emily's shower. We also went to a Spares concert in the city. So many photos that I will send you to the snapfish folder to see more pictures.

Emily's shower was a blast, with family and friends all gathering at Sandi's house. We decorated some spice jars with markers and stickers. Just as I anticipated, the younger girls were the pro decorators. We played a fun little trivia game about Texas. Did you know that in Houston it's illegal to sell Limburger cheese on Sunday? Or that in Mesquite, Texas, children are not allowed to have unusual haircuts?

Last night, we caught the very end of Steve Hendershot's concert in Chicago. The Spares' new release, Glory and Grace, just came out. Even little Stephen sat and listened in the sanctuary.

This morning we went to the Sunday service at Naperville Presbyterian and then to grandma's for a scrumptious lunch.

Out on the water again

Stephen had his first boating experience at 5 weeks old. His second took place yesterday at Ryan's professor's house. She has a small lake in her backyard and a paddleboat, which we took for a little ride. Stephen didn't love it the way he loves swinging at the park, but he seemed to take in the surroundings while we were out. Part of the reason it might not have been his favorite is that he had a large life jacket around his torso and I had just smeared sunscreen all over him. I know the photo isn't the greatest but I was trying to keep a hand on Stephen so he would feel secure and my husband (for some reason) wanted me to pedal!

Heidi is in town for the week and Stephen's been excited the few times he's seen her. She'll be in and out much of the time with so much work to do and her other friends to see. But at least she's able to stay here! We like having company. (hint hint)

It's official. Ryan has not been exposed to tuberculosis. (We weren't worried.)

He starts meeting with an Iranian student this afternoon to help him with his English.

We're still trying to figure out his summer employment. Getting through the school year and getting funding issues resolved for next year was about all he could handle last month!

Done with School!

Ryan did his jury and turned in his final paper. Yeah! He's trying to get all the details figured out for subbing. He has a physical scheduled for later today, and on Tuesday he has to be fingerprinted. But by the end of next week he should be working.

Stephen is also feeling much better today. Here he is, trying to get into things on the living room floor.

I got a call this morning informing me that Laurie and Geoff are engaged. See this post from December. They're getting married in June.

Friends who know Heidi might want to check out her blog — it's listed to the right. We're excited that she'll be staying with us in Champaign next week.

Sick Is No Fun

Stephen had a pretty rough night last night. He's been dealing with some congestion that keeps him from really being able to breathe well. It also inhibits some ability to eat well. His hunger has been making him cranky, too. When I got him up this morning he was running a fever (which he had been doing over the weekend but we thought it was over). So off to convenient care we went. They were great - saw us quickly, made sure nothing serious was going on, and sent us home. What a relief! He's sleeping a lot and doesn't want to play much, but it'll hopefully just be for another day or so. It's so sad to see him upset. And his face is rather crusty from rubbing his hands on his nose and then all over his face.

In other news, I just met with the Pregnancy Resource Center about being a mentor for women who are going through a crisis pregnancy. I'm looking forward to seeing what God might have in store there.

Ryan is done with classes. He has a paper due tomorrow as well as a saxophone jury (that's a final for a music major). He is busy getting his paperwork done for substitute teaching beginning next week.

I'll try to post some pictures this weekend!

Ten Months Old!

We've been enjoying the weather and getting out to garage sales and the park. Just this morning I walked over to a sale that seemed to need a little help with their pricing: children's clothes were 50 cents each. They could have gotten at least a dollar or even 2 for some of these things. Then they were selling a plain, beige phone (that's not even cordless!) for $5. Not gonna happen. By the way, we have one of these types of phones that I'd be happy to unload on someone who might want it. Otherwise maybe Stephen would like to play with it.

This is the first year since 1995 that I haven't been in Des Moines for the Drake Relays. Though I haven't watched many of the actual relays, walking along the painted street after all the students have colored their squares, wondering if I'll be able to park on my own street (wait I don't miss that), and even running in the road race . . . days like these I miss Des Moines! I'm also sitting here trying to think of someone I know in Champaign who has a truck to help us pick up a table. Kevin, what are you doing for the rest of the day . . . ?

Speaking of Des Moines, we'll be there Memorial Day weekend when John graduates from high school. I hope we can see many of our friends during that time, but we'll also be in town for a whole week in June when Ryan teaches at a jazz camp in West Des Moines.

Since it's a monthiversary, I'll need to write down on Stephen's calendar some of the things he's been doing this month. He does scoot around and roll quite a bit, but hasn't figured out the crawling thing. Yes, babies younger than him are even beginning to walk. We wonder if he'll skip right to that. He does stand at furniture for awhile before falling down. One of the funnier habits he's gotten into is finding the "O" on his alphabet ball and spending quite a bit of time just touching it. He sometimes touches the "Q" but quickly figures out that it just doesn't feel the same and moves 2 letters over to the "O." He's been looking at books some, too, especially the ones that have textures to explore. Our shopping trip this week was rather quiet because he was interested in feeling the tiger's whiskers in his new animal book. He does really enjoy peekaboo, and even plays it by himself. Yesterday I was reading some German phrases from a daily calendar I have and he giggled and giggled at that. I didn't quite understand what he thought was so funny. Oh - and how can I forget the food! He LOVES carrots! Feeding him had been so discouraging for me up until this point. Sure he'll eat rice puffs, but I wasn't wild about him filling up on those. I really wanted to get more than a spoonful of veggies in him. And on Wednesday he kept opening his mouth and essentially begging me to put more carrots in his mouth. Yeah!!! I never knew feeding a baby could be so much fun. And the diapers -- those changed literally overnight! He's sitting by me now clapping. We just got done singing BINGO and I think he wants an encore.

A Momentous Occasion

Clockwise from top left: With Betty Esch, a friend from Peoria who now lives in Morton. With Janis Wilkinson, my cello teacher from Peoria. I played with her in the symphony this morning. With Evelyn at Avanti's last night. With Betsy Jones, Heidi, Heather, and Emily's violin teacher from Peoria.

On to Play in Peoria

I'm excited to go perform the children's concerts with the Peoria Symphony tomorrow. Dad is coming soon to pick me and Stephen up to take us. Among the other performers are my first cello teacher and my high school orchestra conductor.

We had a really nice weekend with Emily. Ryan and I were able to have a nice dinner - just the two of us! Yesterday we enjoyed a picnic with our friends Susan and Ercan and some of the Turkish students on campus. The weather has been wonderful!

The picture on the right is of Stephen with our little friend, Maria Mae. As soon as he decided she might be fun to chew on, we rescued her from his grip. She just turned one month and she and mother Sue are doing very well!

Happy TENTH Birthday, David Weeks!

David is 10! I called to wish him a happy birthday yesterday and he just seemed so grown up! We talked about what they are doing out in California. I also had brief conversations with Elijah, Noah, and Joshua.

Here are some of my favorite Davidisms:
"Why do you have no hair under here?" -said as he sat on a man's shoulders and looked under his hat
"No way, Hozey Wozey!" -his own version of "No way José"
"Liberty History Farms" -you'd have to have been to Des Moines to guess this one
"Mom, I want to go hear the water pumps!" -he meant that he wanted to listen to the bagpipes that practiced in our parking lot
"No, you have to do 2 scoops!"

Auntie Em is going to be here soon and Ryan and I will be able to go out to dinner. First time in a LONG time! I am also finishing up a math book and getting ready for a set of performances with the Peoria Symphony.

Midwifery Bill

Here is an article from the Chicago Tribune about a midwifery bill that is being considered in the Illinois House. I have several friends who have even gone to Springfield to speak with lawmakers. I think it's exciting that direct-entry midwives may soon be able to practice in Illinois ...

Poor Bunny

So I was trying to take a picture of Ryan, Stephen, and this bunny tonight. Here is my best result. Ryan kept throwing the bunny down. It was supposed to be cute.

We had a pretty nice weekend. Ryan has been busy putting together a presentation that he will give tomorrow. I have another math book for Perfection Learning that I have been working on.

Here is a photo of Will and Stephen from Will's birthday. We went out for lunch and the boys did pretty well. Maria and I enjoyed the Mexican food!

Stephen is still just rocking on his hands and knees. Today he did a face plant on the floor so I think that he is afraid to be too aggressive because that really did seem to hurt him.

Tonight I caught him playing peekaboo by himself. He does enjoy the interaction, though, so we play a lot of that game.

We got out with the jogging stroller today. It was so wonderful! Didn't go very far but the weather was nice for a quick little exercise.

Spoiled?

Here is Stephen with my mom lying on one of the quilts that made her famous (at least in Joliet). See this story from Friday.

Ryan and I both had quite busy weekends. I had symphony Friday evening, Saturday afternoon and evening. He had recitals Friday and Saturday evenings and work all day Saturday. It was time to bring in grandpa and grandma. So my parents came down on Friday afternoon so Stephen could get used to them being here before I left. He has been clingy lately (normal for a 9-month-old) and I didn't want any of them to have a miserable evening.

We had dinner with the Wells and Roesslers and then left my parents with the little guy. He did so well with them for the whole evening! (Except he now refuses a bottle and just went to bed hungry.)

On Saturday morning I asked if we could all go out for breakfast since The Original Pancake House is a pretty great place to go eat and I knew we'd have time. We also had lunch with Ryan during his lunch break. Then I went to rehearsal and again Stephen did just great! He slept much of the time. We had a nice fish dinner prepared by grandpa and then I went back for the symphony concert. The soloist, Robert Hedlund, sang well; I enjoyed performing with him as well as several other choirs.

After I came home and saw that Stephen was safely in bed and fed, I bopped over to our neighbors' (my parents were here with the boy). Our neighbor had just remodeled his kitchen and was having a party to show it off.

Today we enjoyed talking a bit about Roman 8 and having a small communion time before my parents had to leave.

Ryan is on his way back to school for practicing and rehearsals for the evening. Stephen is sleeping on his "new" bed. He started rotating himself in his sleep and a crib just wasn't working any more. Here is his new sleeping situation:

phone service out

There was a storm today with a small power outage. Afterwards we were not able to get online. We think we have the internet back but the phone service people said that our "gizmo" through which we hook up our phone is now to be used as a paperweight. They're shipping us another one. But in the meantime we won't be able to get phone calls. Ryan's cell works, though ... 515-229-8621.

We got our wedding video in the mail today. Stephen is watching it with us.

Feet

We tried to take some creative pictures with feet last night. Here are the results of that attempt:




Stephen didn't quite understand what we were trying to do!

a post from stephen at dinnertime

oh here we go it's that colored seat again! oh fun flap my arms wildly mommy's here and look there's daddy! they have lots of neat stuff in front of their faces. mmm rice cake piece. i will grab that with my hand and then shove my fist in my mouth. oops it fell down but mom will put it in my mouth for me wow!!! the fan!!! if i just look up i can watch it go around and around and around but then whoa! there's a banana piece in front of my face now. it's gooey. i like to slap my hands on it again and again and again and move it to the floor so now i will lean over and grind my teeth on the table. it's not food and daddy doesn't like it when i do it. so they figure out some more food to give me. for the sake of my bowels they make sure i have apple juice when i eat bananas so here is a blue cup with a little apple juice in it. i really like to put my hand in it but mommy doesn't let me. she holds it but i help and i get most of it in my mouth; a little on my bib; a little on the table. oh there is that fan again!! i will watch it while mommy and daddy finish eating and then i'll want some more rice cake. sometimes i scare mommy and daddy by acting like i'm choking but really it's just my gag reflex. i wouldn't choke on the tiny pieces they give me. mommy says something about cleaning me up - what? i'm dirty? - so she brings over a wet washcloth. she wipes me and that's fine but i really like holding onto the rag afterwards and putting it in my mouth. and that is dinner at our house!

Nice Weather!

We've been enjoying the nice weather. Yesterday Stephen and I went on 3 separate walks!

These pictures are
1. Stephen on Saturday with my mom
2. me in 1978 with my dad ... same back carrier

Last night we had a visit from André, Rede, Foster, and Porter Drost. They arrived late last night and the boys had to go right to bed. Stephen was wired, having taken an evening nap. So he stayed up while we talked for awhile. They are en route to DC for Candy's sister's wedding. Candy flew there.

Stephen is 9 months old today! It's hard to get an accurate measurement on his height; I still think he's hovering right around 30 inches. I got 28 pounds on the scale - with his clothes on. He is playing by himself very well. He wants to be know Ryan or I are around, but he's generally pretty happy on his piano or playing with his blocks. He's become quite a wiggler at night.

Ryan is working tonight after having a full day with both of his lessons (jazz and classical), his morning Bible study, and a paper due at 10, for which he was up some of the night.

A Day by the Mississippi

We took a day trip yesterday to the quad cities to meet Dave and Carolyn. Much of the afternoon was stormy, but we managed to get a nice walk by the river in before the rain started.

Stephen really did great in the car. He slept almost the entire way back. He had hardly napped during the day because we had so much going on!

We're trying to figure out what the summer will look like. Ryan has one week of work in Des Moines. But other than that he will need to find some local work, or we've even toyed with living in Plainfield or Des Moines for a month or so if that's where the work would be. Anyone with an idea please let us know!

In other news, our friends Mark and Sue just had a baby girl 2 days ago (on Ryan's grandma's birthday). Maria Mae and mom are doing well!

our son is crying ...

... because Ryan was singing "old mcdonald" and said he had a pavarotti. the operatic sounds were just too overwhelming.

Finally a break!

It's been so nice to have Ryan around. We have been very busy, and he has been working (he is at work right now) but it's a different pace than when he is in classes. Today we got our hair cut in Urbana. The stylists were happy to have us there; with Spring Break right now they are very bored since their clients are the U of I students.

We just got back from the Chicago area yesterday. We saw Tom, Laura, Hadley, and Kassy Wells, as well as Katie Ferguson, when we were in the city on Saturday. Then yesterday we got to have lunch with family, though my parents and Emily were out of town. Here is a picture of Stephen with two of his pals: Great-Grandma Lindstrom and Great-Aunt Sherry.

The next few days we are trying to accomplish a lot, going to Peoria, Bloomington, and Davenport. We're trying to work it out so that we're efficient with our driving time!

Well, I better go. Stephen has backed himself up across the room ...

My husband is having entirely too much fun doing his homework.

His assignment? To watch Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back.

Tractors

Stephen and I ventured around the Engineering Open House on the U of I campus today with our friends Susan and Nathaniel. It was beautiful outside and Stephen seemed to really enjoy being in the stroller. I liked the fresh air, too! We rode the bus in with Ryan this morning and saw some of our friends at a coffee shop on campus. Then we met up with Ryan again after his day at school and we're back home now.

The Caterpillar rep who took our picture works at the proving grounds in Peoria that were right across the street from the house I grew up in. He was pretty surprised that I knew the area he was talking about.

It's salmon for dinner and a quiet evening here.

Weinerschnitzel

After a glowing recommendation Ryan and I tried out the Weinerschnitzel restaurant down the street. It was fine; not worth quite the effort that others have made, driving down to Champaign from the Chicago area for a hot dog.

Stephen, Ryan, and I enjoyed a visit from my parents just now. In fact, this post will beat them back to the Chicago area.

The pear sauce went over pretty well again tonight.

And the weather was SO NICE that we took a walk OUTSIDE!

Mmm pears

I guess I shouldn't assume this will continue but Stephen seemed to like the pears I fed him tonight! Just a few bites, and then he wanted to play with the spoon. But it was a marked improvement from a few weeks ago. I think he just lost the gag reflex (that is a good thing) so he does understand that he is supposed to swallow.

I enjoyed a women's tea this morning - it was nice to sit and visit for awhile. The week has been pretty busy with a new book to work on and Ryan's schedule being very packed.

Stephen is supposed to be in bed but he woke up and now Ryan is singing to him. It has a calming effect.

Tomorrow we have a La Leche League potluck.

To Plainfield and Back

It was a busy week and weekend for the Leathermans. On Wednesday, Stephen and I packed up to go to my parents' house in the Chicago area. Once there, we relaxed for a few hours and then headed up to the city to meet Steve Hendershot and then I recorded on his band's new worship CD.

It was nice to be able to spend some time with Heather, Marc-Andre, and Emily while we were in town. Here Stephen is excited to be held by his new uncle ... He and Heather are now back in Germany.

My dad is doing so well following his surgery that was only 3 weeks ago. He tires somewhat easily, but he was cooking, cleaning, playing with Stephen, driving ... just not working at CAT!

I enjoyed seeing Jena Morrow as well as Emily (Haluska) Welch, and congratulating Emily on her baby due to be born in September! (Speaking of babies, we were excited to hear that the Hagenberg twins, Luke and Joshua, were born on Tuesday the 20th.)

On Friday we "rescued" Ryan from the train station. He had been at an all-day saxophone conference in the city with some guys from school. Then Saturday he recorded on Steve's CD and got his soprano sax fixed at a repair person in Evanston.

The weather warnings were true!! The roads were very slick near Kankakee and we were going 30 at times. Needless to say we showed up at Andy Forbes's 30th birthday party 15 minutes after it was OVER!

Today we celebrated Mark and Sue Dewing's new baby with some friends in Urbana.

... now if I can only get over the cold I've been fighting for 2 weeks!!!

Digging Out

The University closed yesterday and today - apparently it's the first time that has happened since 1979! Ryan got to the bus stop and the bus driver was the one to tell him that classes had been cancelled. Just this morning he got outside to shovel the driveway. The drifting had made it pretty impossible to even get to the garage! See here our house. It's the left side of this white duplex.

I bundled Stephen up in his snow suit and took him out for a few minutes while Ryan and the neighbors were shoveling. He seemed to like being outside, and the biggest trouble was the blinding effect of the snow!

We have enjoyed seeing our friends who live around the corner since seeing them doesn't require travel in a vehicle. And this morning Ryan, Bethany, and Eric shoveled our next-door neighbor's driveway.

The Aunt Colony Has Disbanded

We had both Heidi and Heather in town this week (which allowed me to be gone two nights in a row for symphony rehearsals). Then today they took off for Princeton, and word is that they just got in.

Sherry was also here yesterday and we really enjoyed showing her around the place and having a nice dinner at Za's.

The CU Symphony performance went well. I really like playing Russian music, and there are points in both Petrushka and the Rachmaninoff that can really take your breath away. And speaking of taking your breath away, I really needed to cough for about the 2nd half of the Rachmaninoff and I know my face was as red as my winter coat! I was so glad when the piece was over and I could cough during the applause.

Heidi in the house

We are glad we were able to be with my family after my dad's surgery last Thursday. He is recovering very well. Although he doesn't really feel good all the time, it's pretty remarkable how he is healing. Thanks to many friends and family for their prayers for him!

We also got to see Margaret, Ryan's cousin who goes to the University of Chicago. She hadn't met Stephen yet. The four of us met up at a local pizza joint and enjoyed a concoction called Garbage. Seriously.

Then on Saturday we headed to Indiana to be with Ryan's grandparents. Dave and Susan also joined us, which enabled us to take the long-awaited 4-generation Leatherman picture. That's what you see here. It would have been nice to stay longer, but we had to get back to Champaign for Ryan to rehearse Sunday afternoon and to get to a superbowl party that night.

Heidi is staying with us for the week to get some work done in town. (She does most of her doctoral work from her apartment in New Jersey, though she's still a U of I student.) She and Ryan are keeping pretty much the same schedule - leaving in the morning, coming home for dinner, then going back to campus to work some more. Ryan is also beginning a job this week, so he's gone extra hours for that. Beginning tomorrow, I'll be playing 3 nights in a row for the CU Symphony. Tomorrow's sitter is Heidi and Thursday's is Heather. Ryan will be home on Friday night.

Stephen is changing every day, it seems! I'm noticing little abilities all the time that even a week ago he couldn't really do. His newest pastime is turning pages in his cloth books. He mostly wants to put them in his mouth, but sometimes he "reads" them. Tonight he actually drank a little bit of apple juice from a glass! He loves the look of glassware and that was enough to intrigue him to try it. We still aren't having luck with having him like solid food, but I figure that is alright for the time being. We'll just keep trying.

I finished the David Kuo book, Tempting Faith. Fascinating material! I'm still not sure entirely what I think about his conclusion - that Christians should take a break from politics - but the stories he tells are riveting. Once he was convicted that, as a speech writer for many Republicans, he shouldn't be making fun of the Clintons, and he felt that he really needed to actually apologize to them. He found himself face-to-face with Hillary at one point and got up the strength to do it. Though she didn't react much at the time, she apparently mentionned how much it moved her in a national speech the next day! There are accounts of things other powerful leaders in Washington have done and said that you would never hear about on the evening news.

Heather is on her way tomorrow and we look forward to seeing her again!

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!

Happy 30th Katie Ferguson

We enjoyed a fun party with Katie Ferguson and the old gang (well - whoever could make it!) at one of her friends' house in West Des Moines. Joanna Dobson and Jenny (Jorgensen) Hoksbergen were there, as well as Mike, Erica, and Wade ... we hoped to see Liz but she wasn't going to get there until much later. A little guy needed to go to bed!

It's been a full week. We had a great dinner at Pete and De Elta's house in Adair with that side of Ryan's family. Stephen got quite a few gifts, his favorites being anything he could put in his mouth. Ryan's favorite gift of Stephen's was the Noah's Ark stuffed toy - with a finger puppet for each of his 10 fingers!

After that celebration we headed to Bernard and Evelyn's to stay with them for a couple nights. Stephen really enjoyed his great-grandma and great-grandpa. And we realize we are so blessed to have them here to get to know him! We went into Adair to see the Fay Pharmacy and ordered dinner from the Redwood Restaurant in Anita.

Thursday we headed back to Des Moines and ended up back at the Leathermans after a few of our other plans fell through for one reason or another. It was a good thing, as Stephen proceeded to take his first-ever 2.5 hour nap! We then got to see a even-more-grown-up Ian Hagenberg, who showed Stephen his new toys. At the Blochers' we enjoyed Max, too.

Today I indulged in one of my favorites - a bagel with cream cheese and coffee - with Rachel Goranson. Then Stephen and I spent the afternoon with Laurie and we ate some kale. I'm sure everyone is wondering - why? - so I'll answer. Kale tastes really really good when sauteed with garlic. Here is how I prepare it. Wash the kale, cutting off the hard ends. Then chop into bite-sized pieces, though it doesn't need to be cut quite as small as lettuce would be for a salad. Bring a pot of water to a boil and boil the kale until it's tender. I usually do it 10-15 minutes. Then drain and saute in canola oil with garlic for a few minutes. It is so tasty.

We were talking tonight that we've really seen changes in Stephen even since we have been here. His ability to grab whatever he sees has improved greatly and he seems to recognize people better than before. He is sitting up very well, especially with somethin interesting to look at in front of him.

we're not shopping today

We've had a few days of get-togethers with family, and a few embarrassing moments for me and Stephen - though he doesn't really care! We were in Knoxville on Sunday with Dan and Shiela and the rest of the Fay clan. Anna and Claire really enjoyed Stephen and even put on a dancing show for him. In the morning we caught up with some friends in Mitchellville at the Wyatt's home. Then yesterday we had a turkey dinner with grandma and grandpa Fay, Dave, Susan, John, and Carolyn. Joanna came over later with Katharine and Joshua. We deduced that
Stephen really likes light blondes. He likes Auntie Em; he got pretty excited about Amy Lindstrom; and then he giggled heartily at Katharine's greetings.

The picture with the little girl is from Saturday when we got together with my symphony friend Seaeun and her daughter who is 3 weeks older than Stephen. She is just as tall but much skinnier.

Last night the toilet overflowed after I used it and it turned into a pretty big mess. We are still waiting for the sewage service to get here ... oops! Then Stephen had a pretty big poop this morning - and he did it WHILE I was changing him. It did make a mess, but I'm sure it could have been worse.

We're getting ready to leave for the Fays in Anita for a few days.

Say Cheese!

Anyone who has tried to photograph a 6-month-old in a professional studio will know what a lot of work it is! We made sure he had napped and eaten and was recently changed, but he still got worn out pretty quickly. Of course he didn't understand why there were strange lights; why mommy couldn't just hold him or feed him; why a strange man (the photographer) was trying to make him laugh. He really did very well and we were impressed with how the photographer was able to capture some smiles. We weren't able to get a family picture because John had to work. I guess we'll take some snapshots during the Christmas celebrations.

Yesterday on our way out to Des Moines we were able to stop by Laura Wells's house and say hello to her, her mom, and Hadley and Kassy. They were enthralled with watching Stephen eat.

Today Ryan has an appointment with a specialist (who Aunt Carolyn works for) to look at his hand to see what might be the problem with it. Stephen and I have chiropractor (or pirocracker as we call him) appointments. I'm planning to stop by Perfection Learning to turn in my book and say hello. We're looking forward to dinner in our old neighborhood.

oh my!

Have you ever had two friends who you knew separately begin to date each other? I just found out about a couple like that!

We had a great weekend with Aunt Emily visiting. We started out having Matt, Annie, Israel, and Enoch Wells over on Friday for dinner. See photo of Stephen with the two boys. We enjoyed a meal together and then some time talking about some Scriptures, singing, and praying together.

We got to hang out with both Heidi and Emily, and Em's friend Bridget came for Saturday to do some shopping. I have been madly working on a book for Perfection Learning. It needs to be done before we leave for Des Moines on Wednesday.

Ryan and I got to go out last night, and Em and Bridget hung out with Stephen. We enjoyed dinner at Silver Creek and then post-dinner at Dos Reales.

Ryan has been practicing a little every day, and today has had some stagecrew work at school.

Happy Birthdays

Happy birthday to Great-Aunt Care and Great-Grandpa Leatherman!

Stephen and I are back from Plainfield where we were for the weekend, playing in the Christmas program at Harvest Baptist--though we didn't make it back without incident. Just as we were passing through Dwight the battery light in Heidi's car went on, then the temperature gauge showed that the car was overheating. We did make it back to a bp station with a car garage so the good news is that it didn't have to be towed. The bad news was that the station was closing in 10 minutes and mom and dad wouldn't make it to town for an hour! So we bundled the boy up in the snowsuit which I had just "happened" to bring, and walked down the street to the Casey's, which was open until 11. (See photo - Stephen loved it because he wasn't in his carseat!) My mom and dad got there and gave us a car and we got back to Champaign about 11:30.

But overall the weekend was great! Stephen and grandpa bonded three nights in a row. Thanks to his hook-on high chair he sat with us at the dinner table. He even braved the bridal shops with all the women looking for a wedding dress for Emily. He got to meet many of our friends at Naperville Presbyterian. We missed Ryan but he was down here getting ready for finals and worked hard on that all weekend. For those of you who know what I'm talking about - the extra pumping to make sure I had enough supply for him while we were performing has caused me to be engorged. Talk about uncomfortable as Stephen slept through the night last night!!!!!!


Ryan is done tomorrow after his French final. His saxophone jury is today.

To school we went

This morning we joined Ryan for his French class at 9 a.m. I made beignets. They were very tasty and left the kitchen a mess . . . but it was fun to see where he has been going every school morning (except for Wednesdays).

Stephen has had a cold but it hasn't seemed to affect his mood very much (except for when we use the nasal aspirator). I think it's on the way out. He wasn't as stuffy today.

Tomorrow we'll head up to my parents' for the weekend where Heidi and I will play for Rollie's church's Christmas program. The music is interesting - The Messiah and then a John Rutter piece, "The Reluctant Dragon."

Last Saturday I hosted Heidi's "unshower" and got to meet several of her friends who live in town but I didn't yet know. We had a great time teasing her and we played a video that Ryan and I had taken of Anthony while we were in Germany. We hung broccoli from the doorways instead of mistletoe - perfect for Heidi!

Tuesday was St. Nicholas Day and (magically) there appeared some ornaments for us. For Stephen it was a "Stephen's first Christmas" and then Ryan and I got an Illini one.

Ryan has been riding a scooter at school. I remember when Tom got it originally and used to ride it around Drake. When he walked in the house with it yesterday I thought it was a cane!

He also hurt his thumb Tuesday playing basketball. He still has been playing - doesn't really have a choice - but he has had quite the semester with injuring necessary body parts for saxophone-playing!