Among many activities and adventures of the past two weeks, the most monumental was a trip to Fort Worth and Waco to visit Ian’s family. It was my first time to meet his brother and sister-in-law and their two beautiful children, Jenna and Michael. We ate and chatted and played an awesome game of tag baseball in the backyard (even Julian got to participate! He laughed and laughed and just couldn’t get enough of running around with me to tag the kiddos.). It was the quintessential family get-together, full of all kinds of love and positive exchanges.
To top it off, Erin was in Dallas for a job interview, so she got to meet Julian. She was pretty blown away by the whole Addie-as-mother thing. Seeing it firsthand is quite different than hearing about it on the phone or reading about it here. She is going through all kinds of life transformation herself, and it’s cool to see how much our lives are still the same even though on the surface they are very different.
After a day and night in DFW, we headed to Waco to have dinner with Ian’s mom and stepdad. We hadn’t seen them in awhile. To say that they have had a troubled relationship is an understatement, and neither is without fault. But a grandchild is a grandchild. They want to watch him grow and love on him like they do the other grandkids, so Ian arranged the meeting, not for him but for Julian to reconnect with them. The outcome Saturday was totally unexpected. Little did I realize what amazing healing powers sweet Julian already possesses. Something else happened while we watched a naked Scooter Boy do his gorilla walk around the patio, gave him a bath in the sink and ate Lavonne’s delicious homemade dumplings. It started to feel like a family should. Ian and his mom genuinely hugged each other. He earnestly expressed his love for her. She accepted us and our way of raising Julian with open, nonjudgmental arms. Somewhere during the course of the night, an old, rusty, well-used hatchet was buried. Everyone had tears in their eyes as we drove off and headed back home.
Now it is my turn to share Julian with my family. I’ll be back in Missouri over the weekend. I can hardly wait.
So, kid update: Julian, who will be 8 months old in a week or so, is pulling himself up whenever he can. Not quite standing on his own just yet, but he’s starting to cruise (walk with assistance) along the couch. Ian will hold his hands and he takes steps, so he’s definitely making progress in that area. He’s sleeping pretty well in the night. He still gets up around 4 every morning for a snackerson (ah, the Troyisms are still being passed) and has been taking great naps (like the one he’s enjoying now so I can take care of some Web site business). He just ate a plum, one of his favorite big people foods. I scrap off most of the skin and remove the pit and he eats the rest. He is still way into bread and bananas.
And I watched a DVD on baby signing and lost my cynicism that the concept was bunk. We’ve started using the signs for food, milk, more and up, but we won’t see the results for at least another 6 weeks. It’s one of those things that you have to put the time in at the beginning, but it will pay off many times over in the end. Just imagine a 15-month-old who doesn’t have to rely on the point-and-cry method of telling you what’s wrong. Or the 20-month-old who can tell you what’s so damn exciting in that picture book you’re flipping through. I’d heard plenty about it delaying their verbal skills, but I think that’s just unfounded hearsay. They will replace signs with words as soon as they can, but there’s a good dozen or so months in between the desire to communicate and the well-developed ability to speak.
Overall, Julian is characterized by his charm and personality that are really starting to show. You can get him in a laughing fit just by running around with him or making funny noises. He is starting to want to show off what he is playing with or what he can do. His face lights up when he sees someone he recognizes, including girlfriend Ruby, who is showing him her new top teeth and first unassisted steps.
So, all is well. Love is in the air. We can’t wait for our trip to Missouri. Wish us luck with planes and airports!
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Erin Eve
I forgot to mention last week that La Tomatina was happening. It's this huge tomato fight in Bunol, just outside Valencia in Southern Spain. A big mess. A lot of crazy drunk travelers. Too much fun to capture in a few sentences here. Of course, had no camera, but these photos will have to do for now. I'm working on a gallery of my photos from Europe, so keep your eyes peeled for it in the photo galleries section.
Dear friend Erin, an Eve, celebrated a birthday this week. Here are 5 Things about you, guapa, that I love:
1) Your kookiness. I'll never forget the dancing Britney that helped Rachel and I through our finals studying or the pigeon dance at the Murcia festival pigout. And, don't forget, it was her idea to streak on the beaches of Playa Postiguet in Alicante on Leap Day 2004.
2) Your fashion sense (and willingness to share!). Every time I get a compliment on my earrings, I have to explain that they aren't mine, they are really my cool, very fashionable friend Erin's and that she gave them to me when she was tired of them. Same with belts. And scarves, but Ian gets those now ;).
3) Your blog. Did I mention that Erin is an awesome keeper of tabs on what is hip and cool online? For instance, she led me to this site, where I took a test to figure out what my personal DNA is. (Benevolent leader. Anyone surprised?)
4) Your questions. Erin has no fear to ask the tough questions as a way to call you out on your shit, or at least call you out to further explain something. This scares most people. This makes me love her.
5) Your fearlessness. Erin went to Spain without the protection of a university study abroad program. She went just because. She moved to Miami on super short notice to go to a prestigise ad/marketing school. For the past few weeks, she's been making her way in New York, meeting more people and doing more things than most would hope to in a year. She acts and reacts with aplomb.
For these reasons and many more, Erin is and will always be one of my Eves. Happy birthday, Erin!
Dear friend Erin, an Eve, celebrated a birthday this week. Here are 5 Things about you, guapa, that I love:
1) Your kookiness. I'll never forget the dancing Britney that helped Rachel and I through our finals studying or the pigeon dance at the Murcia festival pigout. And, don't forget, it was her idea to streak on the beaches of Playa Postiguet in Alicante on Leap Day 2004.
2) Your fashion sense (and willingness to share!). Every time I get a compliment on my earrings, I have to explain that they aren't mine, they are really my cool, very fashionable friend Erin's and that she gave them to me when she was tired of them. Same with belts. And scarves, but Ian gets those now ;).
3) Your blog. Did I mention that Erin is an awesome keeper of tabs on what is hip and cool online? For instance, she led me to this site, where I took a test to figure out what my personal DNA is. (Benevolent leader. Anyone surprised?)
4) Your questions. Erin has no fear to ask the tough questions as a way to call you out on your shit, or at least call you out to further explain something. This scares most people. This makes me love her.
5) Your fearlessness. Erin went to Spain without the protection of a university study abroad program. She went just because. She moved to Miami on super short notice to go to a prestigise ad/marketing school. For the past few weeks, she's been making her way in New York, meeting more people and doing more things than most would hope to in a year. She acts and reacts with aplomb.
For these reasons and many more, Erin is and will always be one of my Eves. Happy birthday, Erin!
Sunday, September 2, 2007
A cooler shade of September
In line with the crazy year of weather we’ve had so far, the beginning of September is feeling like what September is supposed to feel like. Usually, Central Texas is still sweltering in triple-digit heat right about now. But this morning, we woke up and the morning held a noticeably cooler temperature. After months and months of hot, day and night, a break in the heat feels wonderful.
I noticed yesterday that the sun is now crossing the sky at a height that signals it’s almost Fall. It’s a little lower, a little less direct, a little more orange. It has always amazed me how the way the light changes during the day can almost immediately give away the time of the year.
I’ve noticed in the past few years that our emotions do the same thing. Well, maybe not as perceptibly as the sun, but several months of the years, May and August come to mine, everyone seems to vibrate just a little differently. It must be the habit of ending and starting school that is still so engrained in all of us. August, especially, is such a time of change. I’m kind of glad September is here so things can level out a little. Summer is such a rich time (and don’t get me wrong, this is why I love summer), but sometimes it’s nice for things to get back to “normal.”
Normal for us around here is always changing a little bit here, a little bit there. A second tooth is joining Julian’s snagle tooth, and another one on the top seems to be poking through. He’s been pretty fussy about it. He’s lapping up the baby oatmeal with mix with soft fruits, such as bananas, nectarines or avocados. And the bread. Julian loves to pick up little pieces of bread we set out for him. Just like feeding geese. That keeps Julian occupied for hours (in baby time).
We moved his crib down to the lowest level so he couldn’t reach the posters on the wall (He already pulled one off and ate its corner. ‘Sounds like my cat’ a coworker remarked last night. Meow.). He pulled all the books off the bottom shelf of the bookcase yesterday (with Ian’s help—who then showed Julian how to put them all back :)). And I found the best tickle spot ever: his thighs right above his knees.
Separation anxiety has surfaced a little. Even though I’m not the stay-at-home caregiver, he still sometimes gets upset when I leave the room. I’m sure he does this with Ian, too. It must be the nursing, which he still loves so dearly. Mommy still loves it, too, so we’ll keep up with it for awhile longer.
We’ve been going back and forth on the thumbsucking. Sucking his thumb has been the best blessing for him to comfort himself to go to sleep, but he likes it so much that he’s started doing it quite a bit even when he’s not about ready to fall asleep. Don’t blame him, really. It’s a pretty gratifying thing, I’m sure, but I figure if we let him get into the habit now we’ll just have to break him of it later. But hell, I chewed my nails into high school and a friend of mine sucked her thumb into junior high and we’re fairly successful, well-rounded people. I’m not going to lose any sleep over it. It’s pretty cute, actually.
I noticed yesterday that the sun is now crossing the sky at a height that signals it’s almost Fall. It’s a little lower, a little less direct, a little more orange. It has always amazed me how the way the light changes during the day can almost immediately give away the time of the year.
I’ve noticed in the past few years that our emotions do the same thing. Well, maybe not as perceptibly as the sun, but several months of the years, May and August come to mine, everyone seems to vibrate just a little differently. It must be the habit of ending and starting school that is still so engrained in all of us. August, especially, is such a time of change. I’m kind of glad September is here so things can level out a little. Summer is such a rich time (and don’t get me wrong, this is why I love summer), but sometimes it’s nice for things to get back to “normal.”
Normal for us around here is always changing a little bit here, a little bit there. A second tooth is joining Julian’s snagle tooth, and another one on the top seems to be poking through. He’s been pretty fussy about it. He’s lapping up the baby oatmeal with mix with soft fruits, such as bananas, nectarines or avocados. And the bread. Julian loves to pick up little pieces of bread we set out for him. Just like feeding geese. That keeps Julian occupied for hours (in baby time).
We moved his crib down to the lowest level so he couldn’t reach the posters on the wall (He already pulled one off and ate its corner. ‘Sounds like my cat’ a coworker remarked last night. Meow.). He pulled all the books off the bottom shelf of the bookcase yesterday (with Ian’s help—who then showed Julian how to put them all back :)). And I found the best tickle spot ever: his thighs right above his knees.
Separation anxiety has surfaced a little. Even though I’m not the stay-at-home caregiver, he still sometimes gets upset when I leave the room. I’m sure he does this with Ian, too. It must be the nursing, which he still loves so dearly. Mommy still loves it, too, so we’ll keep up with it for awhile longer.
We’ve been going back and forth on the thumbsucking. Sucking his thumb has been the best blessing for him to comfort himself to go to sleep, but he likes it so much that he’s started doing it quite a bit even when he’s not about ready to fall asleep. Don’t blame him, really. It’s a pretty gratifying thing, I’m sure, but I figure if we let him get into the habit now we’ll just have to break him of it later. But hell, I chewed my nails into high school and a friend of mine sucked her thumb into junior high and we’re fairly successful, well-rounded people. I’m not going to lose any sleep over it. It’s pretty cute, actually.
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