Some of you may remember that I have often mentioned doing this. Well, it is done. I was just going to by the wireless card ($40), but the router was there, and you know that bit about how it is better to ask forgiveness than permission? I haven’t installed the router yet, and for those of you who don’t know what a router is: a router takes the internet connection that is in a cable and broadcasts it like a radio station. You password encrypt your station broadcast, your router, and then you tune your wireless receivers—in this case the wireless card plugged into the laptop—to your personal router’s signal. The rush of internet- available freedom was palpable. Even L had to admit the real benefits. See, our computer is in Kara’s room, so unless Kara is at school it is off limits. If you are on the computer while Kara is at home, give it up, because she’ll want to play solitaire or go to the Barbie website or something, and will bug you the whole time until you give in. Now, however, L can research her essays from the comfort of the living room couch. She was able to get a jump on her essay-crunch right away after the kids were in bed. And I was able to work on my Greek without the annoyance of the TV being on. I’m hoping now that we have Internet access from the living room that we will see a lot less mindless TV and a lot more other things like reading, flipping vocab cards, and even, who knows, talking. Maybe we will even blog (gasp!)
Yeah, I worked on Greek for about two hours last night and discovered, much to my surprise, that I may only be one hundred to one hundred fifty words away from Basics of Biblical Greek vocabulary wholeness. From years of just splashing around in it, making sorties here and there, I know a great deal more Greek than I thought. Where I lose it is in the ability to quickly parse verbal forms and in truly understanding how participles are operating in the syntax of a given pericope. Anyway, here’s to a new horizon for intellectual pursuits.
In other news,
This weekend, L discovered that we had a slow leak coming from the dining room wall that was beginning to soak the carpet padding—that was Saturday night. An hour later, the maintenance guy had carved a six-by-six inch hole in the drywall. You could feel droplets of water spit-raining down from the floor above inside the wall. Turned out to be a busted washing machine valve upstairs. Thank God L caught it early, because it could have been worse than it was. As it is, we have this gigantic blower drying out the carpet next to the dining room wall. This thing is loud, but not annoying with a smooth, rushing sound. You could sleep to it, but it drowns out other noises like phone calls and such. And why not make it louder?
Sunday afternoon, for example, we were trying to watch the football game, and Kara and Caleb were in full-on scream mode, playing hard together in Caleb’s room. I couldn’t hear what L was saying to me from one couch to the other. L called this afternoon and told me they had taken away the blower, but the hole is going to remain another day or so.
Because of potential flooding, we transported my bookshelves into the living room, and, you know, they actually look better there. We re-sorted so that (as L says) “pretty books” are on the outside and paperbacks and cheap dented stuff is on the inside. It really looks good, and adds a great deal of comfort to the space. I feel better just lounging next to my bookshelves—there’s something about it that just jazzes the mind. Who cares where the remote is when you can pick up Aquinas, Moltmann, Pannenberg, or Barth simply by extending your arm!
Finally, we were selling some things at a consignment shop this weekend and discovered Caleb’s toddler bed. I connected the minute I saw it: there it is! Sure, he’s a little young, but this thing is perfect. It is a big, plastic, red fire engine with a real fire engine light on the top. I pretty much wanted to throw it in the truck the minute I saw it, but we restrained ourselves until L could take her mom to the shop this morning. Now all three of us just want to throw it in the truck—and, here’s the best part, thanks to our selling stuff to the shop, the bed is pretty much free. You know, maybe Caleb would like our bed and I, um, we can have the fire engine. Kara’s going to stick to that thing like a six-year-old, gangly barnacle. “Kara, it is time to go to bed. L, hon, can you get the pry-bar?”
Monday, January 22, 2007
Thursday, January 11, 2007
sweet arrogance
Listening this afternoon to the BBC4's The Daily Service (I'm quite partial to Anglican services in streaming audio) it occurs to me that apologies are in order. I am sorry for the absolute lack of anything here for long periods of time. Blogging may seem like something you do in your pajamas with coffee, but it actually take a lot of work--and time. And I heard someone say today, "Blogging is arrogant. Like everyone wants to hear what you think." Well, actually, I want to hear what my friends think far more than I care what, say, Tom Cruise or Channel 4 news thinks. My father-in-law is always fond of saying, "Soldiers don't fight because of the cause. They fight because of their buddy. They fight because they don't want to let their buddy down. They fight to defend those next to them." Exactly.
As you can see, L. and I have begun experimenting with some streaming video. And, you can also see that Caleb can walk on walls. It is a little something he picked up over the holiday season. Actually, we took some video of him carting around his forty-eight hour heart monitor. He didn't even seem to notice it. Until, of course, we took if off of him. When we lifted his shirt up to reveal all those sensors stuck to his chest, his expression was the picture of stunned. We have some photos; perhaps L. will post them soon.
Two kids keep us very, very busy. Looking around, I think this is one of the busiest times of life, raising kids. There are quiet moments too. Last night, near midnight, Caleb woke up for one reason or another. He was standing up against the side of his crib, holding on, and jumping up and down. We went in to check on him, fearing he'd be cold, and he wasn't as much cold as lonely. I picked him up and, handing him a sippy cup, put him on my lap. I turned on the TV--we like to watch those educational shows about engineering and big machines--and he settled his head against my shoulder, and we just sat together for a good fifteeen minutes. I've had months go by which couldn't boast that much intense satisfaction.
As you can see, L. and I have begun experimenting with some streaming video. And, you can also see that Caleb can walk on walls. It is a little something he picked up over the holiday season. Actually, we took some video of him carting around his forty-eight hour heart monitor. He didn't even seem to notice it. Until, of course, we took if off of him. When we lifted his shirt up to reveal all those sensors stuck to his chest, his expression was the picture of stunned. We have some photos; perhaps L. will post them soon.
Two kids keep us very, very busy. Looking around, I think this is one of the busiest times of life, raising kids. There are quiet moments too. Last night, near midnight, Caleb woke up for one reason or another. He was standing up against the side of his crib, holding on, and jumping up and down. We went in to check on him, fearing he'd be cold, and he wasn't as much cold as lonely. I picked him up and, handing him a sippy cup, put him on my lap. I turned on the TV--we like to watch those educational shows about engineering and big machines--and he settled his head against my shoulder, and we just sat together for a good fifteeen minutes. I've had months go by which couldn't boast that much intense satisfaction.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Caleb Playing in his Room
Here's a video of Caleb playing in his room while he was still wearing his heart monitor. He was having such a good time. He loves to jump up and down!
Monday, January 01, 2007
Trial video of Caleb
This should be some video of Caleb on the day of his birth taken by L's mom on her phone. We'll see.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Aliens Hate Carrots!
Yesterday morning around 5am Kara showed up in our room having had a nightmare and needing the safety of Mama and Daddy. Yesterday afternoon Kara shared with me what had frightened her. In a nightmare she had Sunday night she and Thom were coming home from somewhere when a white eagle appeared with a letter telling her an alien would be living outside her bedroom window for a year. Evidently the dream ended with her running down the hall in our house trying to get away from the people-eating alien monster. This was very upsetting for Kara. Despite my best efforts to assure her that we know of no other life forms in the universe and particularly no people-eating monsters, she was still quite upset. While I was cooking something for dinner she was curled up on the couch hiding under her favorite lovey blanket not even watching the video I had put on for her and Caleb.
As I was peeling a carrot and wondering if she wanted a piece, I was struck by a moment of Mommy Genius. I walked into the living room with a small piece of carrot and said to Kara "Honey, I have a secret weapon for you. Imaginary aliens hate carrots! Would you like this?" She grabbed it right out of my hand and starting eating it, asking "What else do they hate, Mama?" "Well," I went on "they hate all healthy foods. Meat. Vegetables. Anything good for you. They can sense that it's in your body and they stay away!" Either she bought it or she enjoyed the make-believe -- either way she scarfed down a banana, a carrot and an apple within the hour! On they way to her ballet lesson she asked what the aliens thought about ballet and tap. To which I replied "They hate it! Don't want anything to do with it. Too loud!"
Over the course of the evening we learned that aliens hate ballet, tap, healthy food and children who do their homework. They are especially repelled by imagination-oriented pretend play such as playing with Legos or Barbies, but they are attracted to the playing of video games, the watching of too much television and the eating of Halloween candy! So, one must be very careful to ward off imaginary aliens by eating lots of good healthy food, doing lots of homework and playing with actual toys.
At one point she asked what kills them? I said eating healthy food. To this she replied "Mama, We're going to have dead aliens all around." I answered - Nope. They disappear when they die!
Tonight I'm going to tell her what happens to aliens when children READ! I think it might involve shrieking, running away and never, EVER coming back!
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Friday, November 10, 2006
The High Price of Gas
We all know what it was like going to school and dealing with social pressures. Not drugs and alcohol, just all the mundane irritations of staying "cool" and keeping friends. I'm starting to think it's harder even to be the parent than to be the child.
Sure, childhood has lots of wonderful things about it. You make "best friends." You have wild adventures on the playground. You get some great grades, like a 100 on a spelling test. You read your first book. Childhood is packed full of those kinds of memories. But childhood also has its fair share of trama ~ usually in the form of being teased for something, often times out of your control. For me, the memory is actually still so full of embarrassment, I don't even want to share it today. And I'm certainly not going to share Thom's for the same reason.
Well, Kara had one of those days this week. While walking silently down the hall with the rest of her class, Kara did not remember the social rule - "we don't pass gas at school". Her sad little words to me were "It was so loud, Mama." Evidently, everyone heard it and no one could stop talking about it. Later in the day Kara even overheard two of her friends, girls, talking about it. A day later, two of the boys are still talking about it.
Last night we talked about this and reminded her that EVERYONE passes gas, but we all try not to do it in front of others (well, MOST of us try not to do it in front of others, anyway ;-). At one point in the conversation, I posed the question, "what do you think most kids do when this happens?" The answer I was thinking of was "lie about it." No, Kara says "Never go back to that school ever again and find a different school?!" She said this with such hope and conviction, I couldn't help but feel badly for her. We talked some more and ultimately concluded that the kids would eventually stop talking about this and she should just move on. Tell them it wasn't a big deal and keep right on playing and being herself. So far so good, she hasn't been nicknamed "Farty Girl" and the kids are still playing with her.
The sad truth is... the idea of buying a house in a different school zone had actually crossed my mind!! Anything to keep her from feeling that awful feeling of being stuck with kids who don't like you for no decent reason. That was 4th through 7th grade for me. My big mistake -- moving to a small town where the clicks were already set in stone. And, this because my parents moved to the GOOD school district. As for Kara's issue, come on --Kids pass gas. People pass gas. We hide it while we're dating and then announce it once we're married. Why does it have to be so tramatic?
So, here I go just wanting her to be happy and have good days at school with positive experiences and relatively little embarrassment. Unfortunately, I can't safeguard her against life, no matter how much I'd love to.
Sure, childhood has lots of wonderful things about it. You make "best friends." You have wild adventures on the playground. You get some great grades, like a 100 on a spelling test. You read your first book. Childhood is packed full of those kinds of memories. But childhood also has its fair share of trama ~ usually in the form of being teased for something, often times out of your control. For me, the memory is actually still so full of embarrassment, I don't even want to share it today. And I'm certainly not going to share Thom's for the same reason.
Well, Kara had one of those days this week. While walking silently down the hall with the rest of her class, Kara did not remember the social rule - "we don't pass gas at school". Her sad little words to me were "It was so loud, Mama." Evidently, everyone heard it and no one could stop talking about it. Later in the day Kara even overheard two of her friends, girls, talking about it. A day later, two of the boys are still talking about it.
Last night we talked about this and reminded her that EVERYONE passes gas, but we all try not to do it in front of others (well, MOST of us try not to do it in front of others, anyway ;-). At one point in the conversation, I posed the question, "what do you think most kids do when this happens?" The answer I was thinking of was "lie about it." No, Kara says "Never go back to that school ever again and find a different school?!" She said this with such hope and conviction, I couldn't help but feel badly for her. We talked some more and ultimately concluded that the kids would eventually stop talking about this and she should just move on. Tell them it wasn't a big deal and keep right on playing and being herself. So far so good, she hasn't been nicknamed "Farty Girl" and the kids are still playing with her.
The sad truth is... the idea of buying a house in a different school zone had actually crossed my mind!! Anything to keep her from feeling that awful feeling of being stuck with kids who don't like you for no decent reason. That was 4th through 7th grade for me. My big mistake -- moving to a small town where the clicks were already set in stone. And, this because my parents moved to the GOOD school district. As for Kara's issue, come on --Kids pass gas. People pass gas. We hide it while we're dating and then announce it once we're married. Why does it have to be so tramatic?
So, here I go just wanting her to be happy and have good days at school with positive experiences and relatively little embarrassment. Unfortunately, I can't safeguard her against life, no matter how much I'd love to.
Friday, October 27, 2006
~Current Events~
OK, so it's been a while since the Happy Baby post went up -- time for an update.
Let's see... THOM -- At this very moment Thom is enjoying attending a theological conference at Villanova University near Philadelphia. I think this is his third conference at Villanova. For any of you who might recall the story of Kara and I visiting the Philadelphia Zoo in the snow December of 2003 -- that was the weekend of one of the conferences Thom attended. Previous to that he attended one on St. Augustine in the Fall of '01 I believe it was. He was particularly excited about this conference as his dad was meeting him there for a sort of Father/Son weekend getaway. I'm sure they were out clubbing until the wee hours of the night -- those party animals! (Obviously -- I'm kidding!) Meanwhile, Thom has been fully accepted into the leadership training program at Thomas Nelson. He was recommended by his supervisor, but initially only accepted as an alternate. We suspect this was because of his length of service thus far at Thomas Nelson. At any rate, he was able to attend the kick-off event and the first meeting and after the first meeting he was accepted fully into the program on the merit of his involvement. I was very proud of him! We continue to hope for more job advancement at Thomas Nelson as the company is going through a restructuring that will hopefully open up more opportunities in the coming year. In other news, Thom has been doing an excellent job leading our church's adult Sunday School class through a book on the virtues. Everyone seems to be enjoying the book Thom chose and his teaching.
OK... how's KARA... well, it depends on who you ask... Ask her teacher and she is a model student doing very well in her subjects and never causing any trouble in the classroom. Ask us, and we'll tell you we love her dearly, but she's having some serious trouble around here with regard to respect. She wakes up grumpy and downshifts to crabby with occasional bursts of nasty and delightful highlights of sweetness. With Thom out of town we have tried a different morning routine, which I think has helped. Today is Wacky Clothes Day at school, so we mixed and matched and she actually enjoyed this without getting frustrated or being nasty. We did two braids in her hair and put funny little clips all over the top of her head. She has two different socks and two different shoes and two shirts that don't match. Try as she might to look wacky, she still came off looking pretty cute! In fact, had it not been wacky day, she kind of looked like a trend-setting teenager. Trouble is most of her wardrobe is colors that match, so we really didn't get too far from normal. I'm looking forward to hearing how the other kids dressed. All in all, we're making it through this difficult time with her and trying to remember love and grace and forgiveness apply to all of us - especially Mama and Daddy at times, but most often toward her. Thom will appreciate me saying it seems to be a conflict of law versus grace if ever there was one.
On to CALEB... he is just too cute these days! He's talking a bit more and LOVES to play. He says "Ma'E" for Mommy. Which is kind of funny because Kara calls me Mama, something I encouraged in her, yet with him it seems Mommy seems more fitting and I don't know why. Isn't that strange?? I think with Kara, I thought of Mama as a loving endearment and a closeness and being a mother was so new for me that I somehow projected that into encouraging her to say Mama. With him, it's sort of sappy, but Mommy seems so traditional and normal and expected and it just somehow sounds right when I say "Give this to Mommy" or "Come over here to Mommy" or "Say "Hi Mommy." I don't know... we'll see how this plays out. Truth be told, Kara calls me both Mommy and Mama, so maybe we'll never even notice. As for toys, Caleb has discovered pretend play. He likes to pretend with Kara's kitchen set and pretend to give me a cup of something to drink. He also loves musical toys like his xylophone and drumming toys. He is definitely the kind of kid who is happy making noise with a pot and wooden spoon from the kitchen. I have been snapping pictures of him with his different musical toys for the sake of a scrapbook page and this would be one without precedent -- I don't have a matching set of pictures like that from Kara at this age. Oh, the other big deal is "in" -- he loves to put something into something else. A few days ago he and Kara ran around the house chasing a soccer ball for about 30 minutes. They were having the best time!! They have a great relationship and that is the best thing about having two kids.
As for me...I've gotten into a routine with my writing and I've gotten my first paycheck as a freelance writer! I am presently writing for EBSCO, where Thom and I used to work, doing some writing on an encyclopedic high school product. Last month I was doing articles on world capitals and this month I'm working on hot topics for their points of view product. The research and writing is very enjoyable and it is great to be working during the day and relaxing in the evenings. I'm liking that much better than doing evening Pampered Chef shows. I think with two kids I'm getting up earlier and tired earlier. Either that or I'm just getting old!
The best news of this month was that our close friends SWR and QE came down for a visit mid-month. We rearranged furniture and moved the kids together into Kara's room and SWR, QE and little SI all slept in Caleb's room. (Thanks Auntie Kara for loaning us the awesome Air Mattress!!) Anyway, we had a GREAT time with them! We went into Nashville for the Oktoberfest in Germantown. We ate at a fabulous Indian restaurant for a fun lunch of politic-talking with my brother. We oohed and aahhed over the little ones and stayed up WAY TOO LATE playing penny poker, watching movies, and reading. SWR enjoyed watching the History Channel, eating my cooking and reading the Sports Illustrated mags I've been saving for him (the former tenant of our apartment never bothered to get their mag forwarded so we get them!) QE enjoyed sorting through a mountain of baby clothes for SI with me and the welcomed rest from the world of boxes they've been living in since mid-August as they are in the process of moving from Massachusetts to Connecticut. We enjoyed getting to spend time together with them! Hopefully we'll be able to travel up to Connecticut sometime after the New Year to visit them and see their new home!
Well, that should catch everyone up on current events here at our house. The only real current event we're dealing with here is the election next week. Every member of my family has a different view or take on who to or not to vote for in this Senatorial election. Unfortunately, no matter what happens we'll get a politician and we'll likely be disappointed within a year! On that happy note, have a great day and make it a great weekend!
Let's see... THOM -- At this very moment Thom is enjoying attending a theological conference at Villanova University near Philadelphia. I think this is his third conference at Villanova. For any of you who might recall the story of Kara and I visiting the Philadelphia Zoo in the snow December of 2003 -- that was the weekend of one of the conferences Thom attended. Previous to that he attended one on St. Augustine in the Fall of '01 I believe it was. He was particularly excited about this conference as his dad was meeting him there for a sort of Father/Son weekend getaway. I'm sure they were out clubbing until the wee hours of the night -- those party animals! (Obviously -- I'm kidding!) Meanwhile, Thom has been fully accepted into the leadership training program at Thomas Nelson. He was recommended by his supervisor, but initially only accepted as an alternate. We suspect this was because of his length of service thus far at Thomas Nelson. At any rate, he was able to attend the kick-off event and the first meeting and after the first meeting he was accepted fully into the program on the merit of his involvement. I was very proud of him! We continue to hope for more job advancement at Thomas Nelson as the company is going through a restructuring that will hopefully open up more opportunities in the coming year. In other news, Thom has been doing an excellent job leading our church's adult Sunday School class through a book on the virtues. Everyone seems to be enjoying the book Thom chose and his teaching.
OK... how's KARA... well, it depends on who you ask... Ask her teacher and she is a model student doing very well in her subjects and never causing any trouble in the classroom. Ask us, and we'll tell you we love her dearly, but she's having some serious trouble around here with regard to respect. She wakes up grumpy and downshifts to crabby with occasional bursts of nasty and delightful highlights of sweetness. With Thom out of town we have tried a different morning routine, which I think has helped. Today is Wacky Clothes Day at school, so we mixed and matched and she actually enjoyed this without getting frustrated or being nasty. We did two braids in her hair and put funny little clips all over the top of her head. She has two different socks and two different shoes and two shirts that don't match. Try as she might to look wacky, she still came off looking pretty cute! In fact, had it not been wacky day, she kind of looked like a trend-setting teenager. Trouble is most of her wardrobe is colors that match, so we really didn't get too far from normal. I'm looking forward to hearing how the other kids dressed. All in all, we're making it through this difficult time with her and trying to remember love and grace and forgiveness apply to all of us - especially Mama and Daddy at times, but most often toward her. Thom will appreciate me saying it seems to be a conflict of law versus grace if ever there was one.
On to CALEB... he is just too cute these days! He's talking a bit more and LOVES to play. He says "Ma'E" for Mommy. Which is kind of funny because Kara calls me Mama, something I encouraged in her, yet with him it seems Mommy seems more fitting and I don't know why. Isn't that strange?? I think with Kara, I thought of Mama as a loving endearment and a closeness and being a mother was so new for me that I somehow projected that into encouraging her to say Mama. With him, it's sort of sappy, but Mommy seems so traditional and normal and expected and it just somehow sounds right when I say "Give this to Mommy" or "Come over here to Mommy" or "Say "Hi Mommy." I don't know... we'll see how this plays out. Truth be told, Kara calls me both Mommy and Mama, so maybe we'll never even notice. As for toys, Caleb has discovered pretend play. He likes to pretend with Kara's kitchen set and pretend to give me a cup of something to drink. He also loves musical toys like his xylophone and drumming toys. He is definitely the kind of kid who is happy making noise with a pot and wooden spoon from the kitchen. I have been snapping pictures of him with his different musical toys for the sake of a scrapbook page and this would be one without precedent -- I don't have a matching set of pictures like that from Kara at this age. Oh, the other big deal is "in" -- he loves to put something into something else. A few days ago he and Kara ran around the house chasing a soccer ball for about 30 minutes. They were having the best time!! They have a great relationship and that is the best thing about having two kids.
As for me...I've gotten into a routine with my writing and I've gotten my first paycheck as a freelance writer! I am presently writing for EBSCO, where Thom and I used to work, doing some writing on an encyclopedic high school product. Last month I was doing articles on world capitals and this month I'm working on hot topics for their points of view product. The research and writing is very enjoyable and it is great to be working during the day and relaxing in the evenings. I'm liking that much better than doing evening Pampered Chef shows. I think with two kids I'm getting up earlier and tired earlier. Either that or I'm just getting old!
The best news of this month was that our close friends SWR and QE came down for a visit mid-month. We rearranged furniture and moved the kids together into Kara's room and SWR, QE and little SI all slept in Caleb's room. (Thanks Auntie Kara for loaning us the awesome Air Mattress!!) Anyway, we had a GREAT time with them! We went into Nashville for the Oktoberfest in Germantown. We ate at a fabulous Indian restaurant for a fun lunch of politic-talking with my brother. We oohed and aahhed over the little ones and stayed up WAY TOO LATE playing penny poker, watching movies, and reading. SWR enjoyed watching the History Channel, eating my cooking and reading the Sports Illustrated mags I've been saving for him (the former tenant of our apartment never bothered to get their mag forwarded so we get them!) QE enjoyed sorting through a mountain of baby clothes for SI with me and the welcomed rest from the world of boxes they've been living in since mid-August as they are in the process of moving from Massachusetts to Connecticut. We enjoyed getting to spend time together with them! Hopefully we'll be able to travel up to Connecticut sometime after the New Year to visit them and see their new home!
Well, that should catch everyone up on current events here at our house. The only real current event we're dealing with here is the election next week. Every member of my family has a different view or take on who to or not to vote for in this Senatorial election. Unfortunately, no matter what happens we'll get a politician and we'll likely be disappointed within a year! On that happy note, have a great day and make it a great weekend!
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Happy Baby
Caleb found some words! His favorite is "Happy Baby" spoken again and again from his car seat as we drive around town or in the seat on the carriage at the grocery store. "Happy Baby" Happyhappyhappyhappybebe Happy Bebe Bebe Bebe HaP-E-baybee HappyBaby. happehappebebe.
He also does a sign for "More" by point one finger onto his other hand. It's not the correct sign for "more" -- but it does the trick. He does his sign and then points and sometimes even says "mapeez" which is Caleb for "More Please" or just generally used to mean "I want."
When he brings you a book he usually says "Ree peez" which is Caleb for "Read Please." He used to say "Buuuu" for "Book" but decided that "Ree peez" is more important.
When he's hungry he announces it by saying "nummy nummy nummy nummy nummy" until someone notices he's actually talking!
This week he has tried to say "car" ("ca" -- maybe he is from Boston!), Tree ("tee")and Sky ("up")... we're still working on these.
Once in a blue moon he says mama and daddy -- we're still working on that, too.
Oh yeah, he also sometimes says "gimme" for give to me. He knows what "No" means and responds most of the time to "Caleb, no." He also knows what dance means and loves to wiggle in his high chair doing "the Caleb dance."
We're happy with our happy baby talk!
He also does a sign for "More" by point one finger onto his other hand. It's not the correct sign for "more" -- but it does the trick. He does his sign and then points and sometimes even says "mapeez" which is Caleb for "More Please" or just generally used to mean "I want."
When he brings you a book he usually says "Ree peez" which is Caleb for "Read Please." He used to say "Buuuu" for "Book" but decided that "Ree peez" is more important.
When he's hungry he announces it by saying "nummy nummy nummy nummy nummy" until someone notices he's actually talking!
This week he has tried to say "car" ("ca" -- maybe he is from Boston!), Tree ("tee")and Sky ("up")... we're still working on these.
Once in a blue moon he says mama and daddy -- we're still working on that, too.
Oh yeah, he also sometimes says "gimme" for give to me. He knows what "No" means and responds most of the time to "Caleb, no." He also knows what dance means and loves to wiggle in his high chair doing "the Caleb dance."
We're happy with our happy baby talk!
Friday, October 06, 2006
Things change pretty fast...
Over the last year or two I've come to realize that things can change pretty fast, in a moment really. Now most of you probably have learned this already, either from experience or the experiences of others, but for me this has been a new thought, and in many ways, a welcome one.
Growing up I despised change. As a child change represented a disturbance in my happy little life. Often change brought loss. When I was five years old we lived down the street from my grandmother and my aunt. I saw them most every day. I went to ball games with my aunt and sat in my grandmother's kitchen while she cooked. It was perfect. My best friend, a little boy, lived next door to my grandmother. When I wasn't at her house or my own, I was at his. Star Wars toys crammed under his bed with matchbox cars and Tonka trucks in a room that never really let in any light, all the while, the feel of shag carpet all around us.
Then, one day, seemingly out of no-where, we were living five hours away in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I don't remember leaving. I don't remember getting there. I just remember being in the one place and then being in the next place... without my grandma or my aunt or my friend. I went to Kindergarten and made some friends. A few years and a hamster later, I was watching The Brady Bunch in the basement of our house and my parents called me upstairs to tell me something (in the middle of the show!) I was going to have a baby brother or sister. Can I go back to watching Brady Bunch now?
I still wasn't learning or loving the whole "things change" thing.
My brother was born a couple of weeks after I turned nine. A boy! Who knew?! And then, all at once again, we were moving. It was September and I should have been in school, but we were moving to Illinois and we were sleeping in a hotel with my mom, my dad, my screaming baby brother and our dog. We got a new house. I went to school. I didn't make friends at first. We spent four years living there and in the end I had two close friends. I had a place to eat lunch everyday in the crowded lunchroom. It was perfect. On the last day of 7th grade, I called my mom from the pay phone in the hallway to ask if one of my friends could spend the night. My mom was in tears and said tonight wasn't a good night. We were moving. This time, to Virginia and a life of my Dad with a fulltime career in the military. That was sometime in June. My birthday, at the beginning of July was at the Officer's Club on base in Ft. Lee, Virginia. I was 13. I ate a LOT of crab legs that night, but didn't make any friends all summer. School started in the Fall and suddenly I was sitting with all of the cool kids at lunch. I went to school dances and generally "had a life." I was home sick from school one day in November and my mom came in to say "How do you feel about the Netherlands?" I was 13, in 8th grade and had a crush on a boy named Jaime in my Spanish class. I had NEVER thought one thought or had one feeling about the Netherlands... yet. But, we were moving there.
I lived in the Netherlands for 4 1/2 years, I went to college in Tennessee, met Thom, got married, moved to Massachusetts and got my first real job. I still hated change. Hated it! But lived with it. New supervisors. Change in office location. Roll with it. Got pregnant with Kara -- that was a good change -- but I still struggled with every little change along the way. In 2003 when we were making decisions about moving off campus and I was trying to become a Pampered Chef director and I was finishing up my seminary program and we were trying to figure out how to pay our bills -- I hated change to the point of near panic attacks on a fairly regular basis!
In the Spring of 2004, we invited Joanna to stay with us for a few days and that became a year. In the Fall of 2004, I found myself pregnant with Caleb. A light was shifting from dim to bright somewhere in my mind... change happens. Change happens when you're not looking and there's nothing you can do about it.
In the Spring of 2005, I was about six months pregnant with Caleb when this new thinking in my mind started casting light on a variety of subjects. I began to notice that change was happening in every aspect of our lives, literally EVERY aspect -- family, school for Kara, church, jobs, our marriage, Pampered Chef, money, every area I could identify was experiencing massive shifts and changes.
Now it is the Fall of 2006 and I'm still noticing how fast changes happen. A phone call. A letter in the mail. A decision one evening or one morning that seems to come out of no where and changes the course of our lives -- last year it was the evening we said let's begin a job hunt in Nashville this year it was one morning when I said how about we pay off the credit cards like this...! That fast: life changes. When Caleb was three days old I was in the shower and the phone rang. My grandmother had suffered a heart attack. My parents were visiting to see the new baby and, like that, they were at my grandmother's bedside clear across the country. (She's fine, today, praise God.) Last week my Dad had a routine procedure and wound up spending three nights in the hospital. It wasn't on the calendar, but change happens. Somewhere in the Spring of last year, when Thom and I went to the marriage conference and I was pregnant with Caleb and Joanna was moving on to other things and things were changing with Kara's school and our pastor was leaving our church, something in my heart shifted and I realized change happens, it happens fast, its unpredictable and sometimes it's even good.
On Tuesday I got an email from our friends in Massachusetts SWR and QE (and their newborn son SI -- speaking of change!). They were supposed to have moved from Massachusetts to Connecticut last Saturday, but as it turned out from circumstances beyond their control, their plans were changed. I talked on the phone with QE for a while and got all of the details. Then, on Wednesday night I'm sitting in the living room, chatting with my parents, who had stopped by unexpectedly, and the phone rang. It was QE again.. they have some time on their hands and would like to come and see us before they move to Connecticut! When the phone rang I didn't know who it was and then bam: change. Our month that didn't have much in it, suddenly has a great big something to look forward to right there in the middle of it.
You can't fight change. It's gonna happen whether you hate it or not. May as well like it. Sometimes it's a good thing!
Growing up I despised change. As a child change represented a disturbance in my happy little life. Often change brought loss. When I was five years old we lived down the street from my grandmother and my aunt. I saw them most every day. I went to ball games with my aunt and sat in my grandmother's kitchen while she cooked. It was perfect. My best friend, a little boy, lived next door to my grandmother. When I wasn't at her house or my own, I was at his. Star Wars toys crammed under his bed with matchbox cars and Tonka trucks in a room that never really let in any light, all the while, the feel of shag carpet all around us.
Then, one day, seemingly out of no-where, we were living five hours away in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I don't remember leaving. I don't remember getting there. I just remember being in the one place and then being in the next place... without my grandma or my aunt or my friend. I went to Kindergarten and made some friends. A few years and a hamster later, I was watching The Brady Bunch in the basement of our house and my parents called me upstairs to tell me something (in the middle of the show!) I was going to have a baby brother or sister. Can I go back to watching Brady Bunch now?
I still wasn't learning or loving the whole "things change" thing.
My brother was born a couple of weeks after I turned nine. A boy! Who knew?! And then, all at once again, we were moving. It was September and I should have been in school, but we were moving to Illinois and we were sleeping in a hotel with my mom, my dad, my screaming baby brother and our dog. We got a new house. I went to school. I didn't make friends at first. We spent four years living there and in the end I had two close friends. I had a place to eat lunch everyday in the crowded lunchroom. It was perfect. On the last day of 7th grade, I called my mom from the pay phone in the hallway to ask if one of my friends could spend the night. My mom was in tears and said tonight wasn't a good night. We were moving. This time, to Virginia and a life of my Dad with a fulltime career in the military. That was sometime in June. My birthday, at the beginning of July was at the Officer's Club on base in Ft. Lee, Virginia. I was 13. I ate a LOT of crab legs that night, but didn't make any friends all summer. School started in the Fall and suddenly I was sitting with all of the cool kids at lunch. I went to school dances and generally "had a life." I was home sick from school one day in November and my mom came in to say "How do you feel about the Netherlands?" I was 13, in 8th grade and had a crush on a boy named Jaime in my Spanish class. I had NEVER thought one thought or had one feeling about the Netherlands... yet. But, we were moving there.
I lived in the Netherlands for 4 1/2 years, I went to college in Tennessee, met Thom, got married, moved to Massachusetts and got my first real job. I still hated change. Hated it! But lived with it. New supervisors. Change in office location. Roll with it. Got pregnant with Kara -- that was a good change -- but I still struggled with every little change along the way. In 2003 when we were making decisions about moving off campus and I was trying to become a Pampered Chef director and I was finishing up my seminary program and we were trying to figure out how to pay our bills -- I hated change to the point of near panic attacks on a fairly regular basis!
In the Spring of 2004, we invited Joanna to stay with us for a few days and that became a year. In the Fall of 2004, I found myself pregnant with Caleb. A light was shifting from dim to bright somewhere in my mind... change happens. Change happens when you're not looking and there's nothing you can do about it.
In the Spring of 2005, I was about six months pregnant with Caleb when this new thinking in my mind started casting light on a variety of subjects. I began to notice that change was happening in every aspect of our lives, literally EVERY aspect -- family, school for Kara, church, jobs, our marriage, Pampered Chef, money, every area I could identify was experiencing massive shifts and changes.
Now it is the Fall of 2006 and I'm still noticing how fast changes happen. A phone call. A letter in the mail. A decision one evening or one morning that seems to come out of no where and changes the course of our lives -- last year it was the evening we said let's begin a job hunt in Nashville this year it was one morning when I said how about we pay off the credit cards like this...! That fast: life changes. When Caleb was three days old I was in the shower and the phone rang. My grandmother had suffered a heart attack. My parents were visiting to see the new baby and, like that, they were at my grandmother's bedside clear across the country. (She's fine, today, praise God.) Last week my Dad had a routine procedure and wound up spending three nights in the hospital. It wasn't on the calendar, but change happens. Somewhere in the Spring of last year, when Thom and I went to the marriage conference and I was pregnant with Caleb and Joanna was moving on to other things and things were changing with Kara's school and our pastor was leaving our church, something in my heart shifted and I realized change happens, it happens fast, its unpredictable and sometimes it's even good.
On Tuesday I got an email from our friends in Massachusetts SWR and QE (and their newborn son SI -- speaking of change!). They were supposed to have moved from Massachusetts to Connecticut last Saturday, but as it turned out from circumstances beyond their control, their plans were changed. I talked on the phone with QE for a while and got all of the details. Then, on Wednesday night I'm sitting in the living room, chatting with my parents, who had stopped by unexpectedly, and the phone rang. It was QE again.. they have some time on their hands and would like to come and see us before they move to Connecticut! When the phone rang I didn't know who it was and then bam: change. Our month that didn't have much in it, suddenly has a great big something to look forward to right there in the middle of it.
You can't fight change. It's gonna happen whether you hate it or not. May as well like it. Sometimes it's a good thing!
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