Thanksginving Post...a bit late

What a whirlwind of a week. Both the week of Thanksgiving and this past week of trying to catch up from a week away! It was all very worth it though. We went to Birmingham to see my family for my favorite holiday. How much more simple and perfect can a holiday be - good food and giving thanks with the people you care about most?!

We also had another surprise visit from Jamie and her family as they were passing through town. I am going to expect a visit from her now every time I am in Birmingham!! Everything was wonderful...the only problem is that we could not spend more time with everyone.

Here are some photos from our trip - I hate that I do not have photos of everyone. Here's Alder getting older and changing every day:

and Alder with granddad who was so impressed with his frequent smiles:

...and with his cousin Marilynn. Thanks for being so sweet with Alder! We can't wait to see you again soon...you'll be a big sister!!

And here are all the kids: Marilynn, Anna Virginia, Alder and William. It sure will be fun when Alder can play with you all.

And finally, the ladies chilling on a park bench. Thanks mom and dad for a great time!! Can't wait to see you again soon.

Six Months

I can't believe it. That we have been parents for six months. That Alder is sitting in my lap right now reaching for the keyboard and trying to chew on the edge of the desk. That I could love another being so much. I have learned so much from him already - some things about motherhood, but some lessons for life in general as well. I have a new-found sense of what is truly important in this short and wonderful life and my family is at the center and it feels so good. My heart melts when I see him smile at my voice, even when he can't see me, and also when I hear Jason singing to him and making him squeal/laugh.

As I reflect on these first few months, I remember the first two as blur of newness, emotion, and uncertainty. Casts, a simple surgery that seemed extremely daunting, a fussy newborn, and some ups and downs with breastfeeding. Then the fun began. Smiles that increased in frequency, cheeks and thighs that increased in width and girth, and eyes that have learned to recognize us and respond to our love. My sister-in-law, Lindsay has said several times regarding her now 2.5 year old daughter, that THIS is her favorite age (at 4 months, then at 6, and now at 2). I can fully appreciate this now and wonder daily 'how can it get better than this'? It is amazing how continuous and gradual the changes have been during these early months. For example, I can't remember how and when he started napping less, or when we stopped calling the evening 'the witching hour' and started getting him to laugh in these same hours, or when he went from barely being able to grasp a rattle to grasping any and everything. Sometimes I wish we could push the pause button and revel in these moments a bit longer while I am also excited for him to grow and learn and appreciate the things that only older kids can.

His personality has really starting to emerge recently - he often stares intently at new things seemingly absorbing everything in this new and colorful world, he cranes his neck to look up and smile at us, he cuddles a lot by burying his face in our chest, and he seems to constantly be exploring his voice and tongue - squeals out of nowhere and the new 'da-da-da' in a whisper that crescendos into a yell. He has really come out of his shell in the last couple of weeks - he is much more personable and flirtatious with strangers...no longer the curmudgeon;) . 'What a happy baby!' we often hear now rather than 'What a serious baby!'

Here are some photos we took yesterday on a walk down by the James River. Richmond really is a great city and the river is one of the major reasons. I have never seen such a forested corridor and clean river in a major city. If only Richmond were closer to my family. This is REALLY hard for us. We are very excited to spend some time with them this week for Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday!!!

More food and a hike

The introduction of solid foods has continued and Alder is cooperating quite well. I've been reading a great book my friend Jen gave me called 'Super Baby Food' that has a ton of great information on introducing baby food (when and how much for different ages) and most importantly, how to make your own and buy healthy, responsible items with a baby's needs in mind. It's going to be a great resource as he eats more and different foods. So far Alder has eaten avocado, banana, and Earth's Best organic rice cereal. We give him about a TBSP of one of these at a particular meal. Here are some shots of his first taste of cereal (Thanks Great Aunt Jen-Jen for my high chair!):

Today, we went for a hike in a nearby state park - the autumn leaves are really nice now. It was pretty chilly, but we got out in the heat of the day and hiked for a couple of hours and it felt great. Alder likes the backpack carrier and became mesmerized by the scenery and Tsuga's antics - he barely made a peep the entire time. He resumed his babbles and squeals as soon as he was back in his car seat....so funny. We retraced our steps on this hike as it was the first hike we went on when we moved here. I was quite pregnant then and oh how life has changed. It was neat to reminisce.


And lastly, here a couple more cute pics of alder in his alligator jammies that I really like. Check out them toothies!!

Before Falling Back ...

we went to eastern NC for the weekend. Took advantage of the last day of relatively lengthy sunlight to help mom and dad thin some hardwoods on the hill out front. It was a BEAUTIFUL Saturday. We also did some general visiting with family who we havent seen in awhile. Was great to see Great Aunt Jennifer again, Uncle Trav, Aunt Ana... and great to see grandparents as usual. Family gatherings at Tgiving and Christmas will be nice. So some pics...

Little bit of this

Little bit of that
Alder in a new hat from Grammy

And then today Les decided to give Alder a shot with some solid foods. He has been showing signs of being ready (wanting to eat more often, waking at night for the last few days, watching intently as we eat), but we still anticipated that he would not be very successful at getting the food down and that we would try again in a few weeks. Well, he actually did pretty well and ate ~TBSP of ripe avacado mashed and thinned with water. She called me at work and reported how funny the faces were as he managed to "chew" and swallow it.

Wow that nose really does look like mom when flared like that!

And then again after I got home tonight, we fed him a bit more. He really did fantastic. Ate every spoonful with only minor spit-outs. Made some ugly faces (apparently due to the new texture) but really seemed to like it. We will likely not be feeding him any substantial amounts of solid food for a few more weeks, but thought it might be a good idea to get him used to the idea now. We are not ready for Mom to give up breastfeeding yet!

It was so exciting and at the same time it was shockingly sad ... Every little thing like this is pretty intense. I think I will have to take the day off when he starts school... Today I got to spend some time writing in our labor/birth journal and it brought back a flood of memories. Already it is amazing how many things Alder doesnt do anymore and never will. The mind-warping "they grow up so fast" starts at about day two or three.

Oh, and Alder made it into the Annual Club Foot calendar to raise money for the Ponsetti International Foundation. Alder is part of February. Here is a link you can use to preview the calendar:

http://www.lulu.com/content/1173165

Amazing that after a frightening February one year (2006) of not knowing what is to come of, at that time, unknown circumstances, the outcome one year later gets us in a calendar. We are happy to contribute to this cause by being IN the calendar and by buying one.

Hope you all are well. Namaste.

Now, Who's Spooky?

Well, Alder's Halloween consisted of about 10 minutes in the top half of a surprise-loaned bumble bee outfit, in the front yard. So we attacked him with the camera. How funny it is for us to dress incapable and unaware beings in silly clothing. Tsuga in a flannel shirt (1st blog post for all you dedicated followers, hu hu hu), chimpanzees in straw hats and neckties and babies in costumes. We had fun with it. And the freaks came out at night, after he went down. The tricker treaters smoking cigarettes on our porch...