7 Quick Takes (vol. 9)

--- 1 ---

I'm expecting extraordinary--or at least strange--things from today: I voluntarily got out of bed when Alex got up this morning.  Before Michael was awake.  And it wasn't because I had to go to the bathroom for the gazillionth time and couldn't get comfortable enough to go back to sleep.  And I didn't even have to go to work.  Furthermore, I didn't go back to bed when Alex left for work (which is what usually happens when I manage to be such an amazing wife that I get up and help him get out the door and have the amazing good fortune to find myself still with a sleeping child after my husband is gone).  Are you impressed?  You should be...

--- 2 ---

I was rewarded by getting to see my breath in the cool, crisp, feels-like-October-not-August-air this morning.  I love fall!!!  I am soooooo ready for it to really be fall and not just tease me like this (even though it's only 50 now it's still supposed to get up past 80 today... but that's still an improvement over days upon days in the 90s!).

--- 3 ---

We've almost made it through our loooong week without the pool.  After our epic July vacation we realized 1) Michael is part fish and 2) pregnancy + swimming = heaven (until I get out of the pool and feel 25 pounds heavier than I did before the bliss of buoyancy).  So we went ahead and signed up for a family pass at our local rec center and thoroughly enjoyed it.  For a week.  Before they closed the entire place down for their annual (I'm assuming) deep cleaning.  *sigh*  We're eagerly awaiting the grand re-opening (grand for us, at least).

Michael swimming with Papa at the lake in ND.

--- 4 ---

Have you ever heard a dying rabbit?  I think coyotes sound creepy enough on their own, but mix in the screams of the rabbits they are apparently eating, and you have quite possibly my least favorite sound in the entire world.  Especially when I wake up from an unusually peaceful sleep to that particular gem of a noise.  And it's even worse now that I have Michael, because those first few seconds are spent in a panic trying to discern whether I woke up to Michael screaming like a banshee or coyotes feasting.  That's one particular little detail Nature could have just kept to herself, as far as I'm concerned.

--- 5 ---

So that's something else for us to consider as our house search is (hopefully) about to begin in earnest (!!!): what is the local coyote population?  I'm pretty sure the answer to that anywhere within the state is "thriving."  Including thoroughly urban and populated areas of Denver, where we have, in fact, seen coyotes roaming parking lots.

--- 6 ---

Yes, after saying all summer that we were "getting closer" to starting to look seriously and "keeping our eye on the market" (aka stalking houses online and getting waaaay too emotionally attached to the idea of various houses and then having MY house sold right from under my nose at least three times) we're just about ready to actually move forward with the search.  And about time--if we want to be at all settled before Liam is born then this needs to happen.  Soon.  (Yes, God has a plan... God has a plan... GodhasaplanGodhasaplanGodhasaplan... but why won't He tell me what it is already?!?!?!)

--- 7 ---

Finally, check out this awesome new Bible study on the Sunday readings: Opening the Word.  You can even download a free sample!  I have the joy/privilege/thrill of being on the writing team for this project, but I don't get paid extra for promoting it ;)  The format is conducive for just about any size group--RCIA class, adult faith formation group, family study, or even individual study.

Happy Friday!!!  Go see Jen for more quick takes!

Embrace the Camera Vol. 1

I was making my rounds of mommy-blogs today and stumbled across Emily at the anderson crew and her inspiring challenge to embrace the camera.  She gives a much more eloquent explanation, but essentially it involves being intentional about getting pictures of yourself with the ones you love now, rather than waiting till you're a little more prepared for your ideal photo shoot (which, in my case, would mean minimal pictures of myself for probably a year--after I lose all the pregnancy weight from Liam plus the 10 pounds or so that I never lost from Michael).

So this evening I grabbed the camera to try to get a couple shots with Michael.  He wasn't particularly cooperative (he wanted to look through the camera rather than be on the business end of the photo) but we still ended up with Embrace the Camera Vol. 1:

Too quick with the kisses to be caught on camera

Mom, enough already!

7 Quick Takes (vol. 8)

--- 1 ---

I am so way ridiculously overdue for a blog post... but I have a good excuse!  Or several, which kind of maybe add up to over a month of no blogging (whoops).  And I promise to not use up all seven takes just listing my excuses!  I also promise a photo-filled quick takes to appease Nicole (and anyone else who comes here just to look at pictures of Michael and not to actually ready anything, which is totally fair), followed (hopefully shortly) by more posts detailing our epic adventures over the last month.

Indubitably more interesting than anything his Mama writes.

--- 2 ---

Our last month has been incredi-busy, but in a really good way.  The first weekend in July we headed out to Lincoln for a wonderful, relaxing, hot, and humid week with my parents.  We knew they'd be feeling kind of desolate after just finishing up six weeks of dog-sitting for my sister and brother-in-law, so we decided they needed some time with their grandson to cheer them up.

Despite Michael's rather stoic expressions in both pictures, I promise we all thoroughly enjoyed each other.  We're back to our weekly video chats now, but it's just not the same.  And Michael doesn't understand why Grandma and Grandpa aren't there to talk to him every time I turn on the computer.  When I sit down at the computer he comes running and demands "uhh!" (up!) so he can laugh and point and yell "bampa! bampa!" (used interchangeably for both Grandma and Grandpa) at the computer, but all he gets is Facebook.  Poor guy...

--- 3 ---

After our week in Lincoln we headed north to Fargo for the beautiful wedding of Alex's beautiful cousin Beth (and we welcomed another Michael--and another Nebraskan--into the family... I'm sure I didn't punctuate that correctly so as to alleviate any ambiguity about the number of people involved... oh well).  We drove across North Dakota to the tiny paradise of Mott for another beautiful wedding of another of Alex's beautiful cousins, Katie.

Michael monopolized Caraline on the dance floor--
even to the point of cutting in on the bride.

Michael's cake face.
Actually, his anything-he-wants-to-eat face.

Michael thoroughly enjoyed the dancing,
and my arms got quite the workout.

--- 4 ---

We had an absolutely lovely time at the weddings and spending time with family before, in between, and after.  But being pregnant during wedding season is no fun.  Free alcohol + growing baby = Alex drinking for 3 (as he says) and me just feeling jealous and somewhat sorry for myself as I try not to scandalize those who may not be keeping up on the latest research out of Denmark.

--- 5 ---

Speaking of pregnancy, I don't know if I can handle continuing to work--even part time--through the rest of this pregnancy.  For the first and second trimesters my hormones more or less behaved themselves in public, but this week I simply could not keep myself from thoroughly internalizing everyone else's problems at work. I know that I tend to internalize problems (okay, everything) to some extent anyway, but pregnancy hormones just made the situations (yes, plural) ridiculous this week.

--- 6 ---

But despite the havoc he's wreaking on my limbic system, Liam is certainly doing just fine.  He's crazy busy (especially at bedtime, of course) and his favorite pastimes are doing flips, kicking his brother, and kicking his father.  Maybe once the Olympics are over he'll stop trying to do every sport at once inside me.

--- 7 ---

Oops, slacking on pictures.  So to finish out this first post in forever, enjoy these moments from our adventures:

Go see Jen for more quick takes!

These are a few of my favorite things...

There are so many fun things I want to remember about Michael being almost 18 months old. Here are just a few...

• The way he says "mmmaaaammaa!"  Music to my ears (even when he just repeats it over and over and over in the car)!  He's saying "Dada" too, but not as consistently yet.
• How much he loves his hat.  He will go looking for it, put it on all by himself (usually crooked) and wear it around the house.  In this picture he put his hat on (all by himself), climbed up in front of the computer (all by himself), and was apparently waiting for someone to sign on to video chat with him.

•  He also smiled and said "cheee" when I tried to take a candid photo. 
• The way he says "oh-oh," "hosshh" (hot), and "aashhh" (crash).
• The way he moves his hand back and forth from shoulder to shoulder to makes the Sign of the Cross with us before praying, and the way he folds his hands and tucks them under his chin when we tell him it's time to pray.
• How snuggly he is getting.  He's still too busy for long snuggles, except for when he's sleepy, but he'll often stop for a good strong hug and enthusiastic kiss before going back to his very important business.
• His gremlin noises.  
• How he sort of does the actions for "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "The Wheels on the Bus."  Mostly he likes to watch us do the actions.

I've been horribly remiss in posting videos of Michael (sorry, Mom and Dad!).  To make up for it, here's an 8 minute video of pre-bedtime playtime.  The gremlin noises make an appearance in the first couple minutes.

Dear Grandma and Grandpa...

Dear Grandma and Grandpa,

I think road trips are so much fun, and the best road trips lead to Lincoln :)

I can't wait to come see you soon!  

I hope my mom and dad let me take a turn driving--I've been practicing a lot.

See you soon!

 

Love, Michael