It's the holiday season....

We are in full swing of the holiday season here in the Bashaw household!  It started with a very lovely Thanksgiving weekend.  We spent Thanksgiving in Cedarburg, enjoying brunch with Gammy, Grandpa, and Aunt Mary, and then Adam, Rochelle, and Kaden came into town and joined all of us for Thanksgiving dinner.  As usual, everything was very yummy, and it was so wonderful to be together.  The table is getting mighty full... and next year, there will be 2 more highchairs pulled up to it!  We are all very excited and thankful for the soon-to-be arrivals of Baby Girl Rymer and Baby ??? Bashaw!  I think Miri's favorite Thanksgiving food this year may have been her mommy's cranberry sauce.  She also loved turkey and pumpkin pie.  The highlight of Black Friday was not shopping but instead a "pizza party" with the Rymer family crew.  On Saturday, we had the Kaisers, Crenshaws, and Jennifer over to watch Badgers football.  As usual, it was a lot of fun to be together with some of our closest friends.  And... they surprised me with a baby "sprinkle" to celebrate Gummi Bear!  I am so lucky to have such amazing friends.  They surprised me with a cake and flowers and gifts.  I was so incredibly touched by this gesture and *may* have shed a tear or two when Erin showed up with the cake and announced their intentions!  Here's a few pics.

yummy cake!

the Kaiser family (how gorgeous and grown-up is Maddie looking these days???) and Jen

Me and Miri chilling with the Crenshaws
 

Then that Sunday, we had a quiet family day at home and put up our Christmas tree in our pjs while listening to Christmas music.  Miri was a very big helper with the lights and ornaments.  :)

 

 

We started not one but TWO fun holiday traditions on Dec. 1st.  First of all, we met our newest family member... no, not Gummi Bear!  It's Tuppin, our Elf on the Shelf.  Miri named Tuppin all by herself, and Jason and I think she did a great job.  He just looks like a Tuppin, doesn't he?

Miri has definitely gotten the hang of looking for him each morning to see where he's hiding after returning from his daily visit to Santa each night.  She has only needed clues from Mommy or Daddy a few times to be able to find him.  Also on Dec. 1st, we started our family Advent calendar... which Miri calls her "numbers house."  This girl is getting so good at her numbers!  We started out by giving her a piece of paper with the day's number on it and having her match it to the corresponding door on the calendar.  But after 2 or 3 days, we quickly realized she didn't really need it for #1-10!  It's amazing how much this girl knows.  I was shocked to realize that she is pretty darn reliable with recognizing AND naming the numerals for 1-10, and even more so when I realized earlier this week that she can recognize and name at least half the letters of the alphabet consistently.  She has also learned the days of the week at school and can recite them in order!  This in addition to knowing her colors well since the end of October, being able to count to ten since early November, and also actually understanding the CONCEPT of counting and being able to fairly reliably count objects/ pictures for several weeks now.  Such a smarty!  Jason and I are continually impressed by her knowledge and aptitude for learning. She is also mastering the game of Memory, both with an app on my phone and using her flashcards.  At any rate, I've way digressed.... what I really intended here was to let y'all know that she enjoys opening her Advent calendar each night and seeing what surprise is inside.  Of course, little miss sweet tooth loves the Hershey kisses, fruit snacks, and M&Ms, but she's also been loving the Christmas stickers and jingle bell necklace she's found on various days.
 

On the eve of Dec. 5th, St. Nicholas came to our house, and he left Miriam a pair of Christmas jammies (which you can see in the Chanukah picture below, LOL) and a wonderful Christmas book called Room for a Little One by Martin Waddell.  St. Nick (or just "Nick" as Miri calls him) also really surprised Miri by leaving her a stuffed reindeer at Gammy and Grandpa's house, which she has named Comet (Daddy helped with that name) and is napping with at this very moment.  :) 

Finally, Chanukah began last Saturday night.  Miri enjoys watching/ helping Daddy light the candles on the menorah every night, listens attentively to the prayer (no, Miss Smarty Pants has NOT mastered Hebrew yet, ha ha!), and has received a gift most nights.  We will have our annual Chanukah meal of latkes and matzo ball soup this Friday night (and this year, I'm all set with a game plan to attack the latke odor immediately so as to not have our house smell like fried goodness for several days.  So if anyone is looking to buy stock, you might want to do a quick buy and sell of Heinz stock, because I will be armed with LOTS of distilled white vinegar!)  Happy Chanukah!

So I think it's obvious that we are really enjoying the holiday season this year.  It has always been a very beloved time for me, but boy... nothing makes it more fun than being a parent!  Especially as Miri is starting to really understand some of the concepts and enjoy the traditions.  Although... she remains afraid of Santa.  Don't get me wrong... she definitely understand, likes, and talks frequently about the fact that he is going to leave her "pink and purple presents" (Santa may have to sit on his Christmas wrapping paper this year!), but she does NOT like the idea of him coming down our chimney, into our house, or anywhere near her!  She likes to look at him from Daddy's or Mommy's arms a safe 6-8 feet away, but I think if we were to attempt a Santa picture this year, it would of the screaming, petrified toddler variety (so I think we may skip it yet again this year.... I just can't seem to put her through it).  She also doesn't like the idea of leaving cookies for him... when I say we are going to give cookies to Santa, she emphatically tells me "NO!  Cookies for MIRIAM!"  Yep... she's her mommy's daughter!  :)

My African Weaver Bird

So, I bet you're wondering why I am showing you a picture of the African weaver bird.  Well, it's not to let you know that we're going on an African safari next year (but doesn't that sound fun?).  It's also not because a rogue African weaver bird ended up in our backyard (but how cool would that be?)  Nope.  That little guy is pictured here because he is a metaphor for my wonderful husband Jason.  Did you know that in almost all of the world's bird species, it is the female who makes nests?  Oh sure, the birdy men sometimes help out by collecting twigs or hay or whatnot to help their mate out but that's as far as it goes.  But the African weaver bird is one of very few species where the male actually constructs the nest himself.  Well, evidently Jason is an African weaver bird.  My pregnant self has become lazy.  Actually, that's not true.  In all honesty, my pregnant self is TIRED, CURRENTLY SICK, and, even more so, my pregnant self is mentally OVERWHELMED and DAUNTED at the challenges of Elf on the Shelf, St. Nick's Eve, Chanukah, Christmas, and of course preparing for the little human who will be joining our family in 6 weeks (or less).  It just seems like soooo much to do, in relatively little time, that I can't bring myself to start any preparations, even though I want to/ need to.  Fortunately, I have an African weaver bird as a husband.  Let's examine the evidence.

First of all, Jason has listened to me complain about the ugly ugly dated floral draperies in our living room since the day we moved on. But I didn't take them down because (a) window treatments are expensive, and we've had other stuff to spend money on around the house that took precedence for a long while and (b) I thought blank windows would make our home look like a college apartment. I figured "homey but homely" was better than "spartan and collegiate." But then my BFF Brooke, who is also super talented and loves home decor and design, convinced me a few weeks ago via a phone chat that I should just take them down and that the spartan look is better than dusty 1992 floral fabric. So in a fit of passion, I made Jason tear one down while I was still on the phone with Brooke. And I gushed to Brooke that it did indeed look so much better, and why on earth hadn't she insisted on this last August when we first took residence?  For a few days, I was happier. Then, the nakedness started to really get to me. So Jason and I decided that we must start looking for some budget-friendly curtains. Of course, Mr. Weaver Bird jumped all over this and started emailing me links from Target and World Market and Ikea and etc etc that were all within our budget. This is how Jason works... he takes an idea and runs with it. I, on the other hand, often get overwhelmed and ignore his many emails for awhile.  Eventually, though, Jason actually dragged me out to the shops, and we ended up picking up some from Target that we thought might work. He draped them temporarily from the naked curtain brackets in our living room, and I avoided making a decision on them for over a week because my limited artistic vision couldn't see past the way they were inelegantly slung over the cheapie little metal bracket to envision how they might be hanging on actual cute curtain rods. Mr. Weaver Bird was ready to peck my eyes out... he just wanted to build his nest, gosh darn it!   Make a decision, lady!  So finally, at least partially over the desire to just not be nagged anymore, I decided that yes, I do like these drapes. And bingo, a few hours later, they were artfully hung.  And I am soooooo happy with them!  My house feels like a grown-up's home again, but now it feels like MY home and not the original owners'.  (With truly no offense meant to the previous owners, who did take loving care of this home for the 21 years they lived here).


The "before"... see ugly floral valances to the right of Jason

The "after"... much better, right?

 

After this, my bird man started squawking at me about the need to pick nursery furniture.  We've been casually looking at some cribs and dressers for a few months now, but I haven't felt a real need to make a decision.  After all, Gummi Bear will sleep in our room in our co-sleeper bassinet that sidecars to our bed for at least 8 weeks or so, during which time we will paint and decorate the baby's room (Okay, who am I kidding?  I will probably not be painting or doing other manual labor, other than being the sole food source for another human being, which, trust me, is a big enough job, thank you very much, in addition to continuing to care for a 2 year old and make sure I occasionally feed myself and get a wee bit of sleep).  I really didn't feel the need to make a decision on furniture yet.  To buy myself some time, I told Jason he needed to relocate his home office out of Gummi's room and down to the bowels of the basement before I would worry about furniture.  Now, our basement has been in a state of disarray since early September, when Jason first began the ardous process of priming and painting wood paneling.  So I thought he couldn't get down there on the drop of a hat.  Well, evidently my birdman's nesting instinct takes precedence over all else because he put together his new desk and moved himself right on down to our now-homier, less-woody basement! 

The "before"... this is the previous owners' stuff- pic was taken right before we put in our offer

 

The "after"... wood paneling has been painted a light, calming blue and home office situated in a corner

 

So I had to acquiesce, and we finally decided on and purchased a crib for Gummi Bear.  Which of course I thought it made more sense to just leave in the box (again, the room will need to be painted before the baby ever sleeps in the crib in his/her room). But nope... guess what little project the Weaver Bird accomplished on Monday night?  Here is photographic evidence of his hard work, as well as a video we took of Miri's reaction to seeing a crib (with a sleep sheep just like hers) in Gummi's room.

Then today, I come home from work to see that my weaver bird evidently was listening when I nonchalantly (no veiled hints, I swear) mentioned that we'll need to wash the carseat cover, vibrating baby chair cover, and swing cover at some point soon.  Those items have now been magically moved up from the basement to the baby's room, sans covers, and I hear the washing machine going as I write this!  AND... my industrious little birdie also pulled out our bin of Miri's outgrown baby clothes and the boxes of infant clothes from Robin and has started to pull out the gender neutral pieces that would ideally be washed and ready prior to baby's arrival. 

I bet every pregnant woman wishes she was married to an African Weaver Bird.  This Thanksgiving, I am especially grateful to be married to Jason.  I don't know what I'd do without him (now and always). 

Happy Thanksgiving y'all!  I'll try to do a Thanksgiving recap soon!



 

Halloween 4

No, this has not become a movie review blog. I could not tell you what Michael Myers was up to by the 4th installment. Well, probably murder.

Definitely murder.

But anyways, like I said, this is not a movie review.

The "4" represents the number of Halloween events Miri took on this year. She has come a long way since her first two Halloweens, and is now really understanding the whole concept.

1. Dress up.
2. Ask for candy.
3. Get candy.
4. Eat candy.

And she loves it! (Both the concept...and, of course, CANDY!)

So let's recap her four Halloweens:

Halloween 1
Unfortunately for Miri, Halloween 1 did not include candy. But she did get to dress up like an elephant and go to the zoo to see...monkeys (I was hoping we'd see elephants. Now wouldn't that have just been the perfect photo op?! But, alas, it was too dark.). So, anyways, I took Miri to Boo at the Zoo and met up with Gammy and Grandpa R. Unfortunately, Alli had a continuing ed course in Chicago that weekend so had to settle for a text photo of her little elephant, which I'll now share with you:

 

Halloween 2

This one did include candy...and every one hereafter. We ventured up to Cedarburg to visit Gammy and Grandpa the Saturday before Halloween, as this was the 'Burg's trick-or-treat (TOT) night. I'm not sure why I never thought to do this as a kid. Apparently every town has different TOT days/nights, so we could have potentially TOTed for probably a week straight, sometimes multiple stops in one day if you put together a good schedule. What a haul I would have pulled in! Why did our parents not make us aware of this?? But I digress. So Miri seemed to like the idea of TOTing, but was a bit afraid to actually approach the houses. With some minor persuasion ("these people are friendly"), we convinced her to make a few stops...but not quite ready to be turned loose.

 

Halloween 3

Party at school! Obviously, Mommy and Daddy weren't there for this one, but I did hear there was a spectacular parade (which I'm sure included a light show and special effects, marching bands, and probably Grand Marshalled by a celebrity...like Santa), an amazing spread (Goldfish, string cheese, milk), and her bestest friends (Adelyn, Brookie, Ms Rachel, etc).

 

Halloween 4

The main event...Trick-or-Treating in Germantown on Halloween. This time Miri went through a costume change, and became her beloved Elmo! She was again a bit hesitant to go up to the houses...but things quickly changed, and she was TOTing like a pro! At one house she said, "Trick or treat!", and after receving her candy we said, "What do you say?", and she turned right back around and said, "Trick or treat!". Nice one! It earned her an extra handful of treats...and a high five from Mommy and Daddy (who would later be eating that extra handful of treats)!

So that's the scoop on Miri's 4 Halloweens. Lots of fun, yummy candy, and absolutely no murder!

 

Miri's beautiful, hand-painted pumpkin which adorned our front stoop on Halloween.

 

 

Musings on fall

Happy fall!  It officially feels like fall in Wisconsin these days... it has been a rarity any time the high tops out at or above 60 degrees the past few weeks.  Which is fine by me... I am not a lover of tropical or subtropical weather (minus an occasional beach vacation here and there, of course).  Fall is BY FAR my favorite season.  What is not to love?  The trees turn pretty colors, the air has the most wonderful smell, tall boots, cozy sweaters (and being able to wear without a winter coat on top!), football, apples, pumpkins, Halloween, and the return of Starbucks fall seasonal drinks.  Oh autumn, how I love thee!  Thank you for returning every year and letting me fall in love with you all over again.

In that spirit, we have been trying to enjoy some fall activities. Two weekends ago, we went to Holy Hill to see the fall colors. The trees were just about peaking, and it was a gorgeous day. We walked from this little park up the hill past the outdoors Stations of the Cross (I'd never seen them before) and then enjoyed the view from the terrace of the Basilica. Holy Hill is really such a beautiful place, ESPECIALLY this time of year. Someday, we will climb the 192 foot tower and really be wowed by the view. I remember doing this as a kid, with my family, but Jason has yet to experience it. However, I didn't think climbing 178 winding steps while carrying around (at the time) 25+ weeks of pregnancy weight sounded like fun. :) At any rate, we enjoyed the scenery, and Miri especially had fun playing in the leaves in the little park.

Then last weekend, we met our good friends the Kaisers and the Hazans at Apple Holler in the Kenosha area for some fall fun. Unfortunately, the weather was unseasonably cool (probably around 42 degrees at the warmest point of the day), our family's decision not to actually pick apples (we'd heard the quality and quantity were poor this year due to the drought, and Apple Holler's pick-your-own is a PRICEY endeavor) while the other families DID pick, and trying to coordinate 3 small children's nap schedules made it so that our plans didn't turn out quite like we'd anticipated, in that we really didn't get to spend much quality time with the other families. But we still made the most of it and had a good time nonetheless. Miri especially loved the animals and the corn maze. 

Other than enjoying the fall, not too much is new around here.  Jason is working hard at his new job, and I am enjoying my return to my normal part-time schedule and more time with our darling daughter.  I am starting to get really excited (and also a little nervous) for our Gummi Bear's arrival as I've now officially entered the 3rd trimester.  I am feeling more tired these days, but I am still very comfortable for the most part.  I really do LOVE being pregnant, despite the little inconveniences.  There is just nothing like feeling this little person squirming and kicking away in my belly and trying to imagine who he or she will be.  Any time I feel especially fatigued, all I have to do is remind myself what an incredible miracle and gift it is to be carrying this baby, and I feel like the luckiest woman alive again.  This is most likely our last child (unless by some miracle we become rich AND I start reverse aging AND I convince Jason that an odd number of children does not mean someone has to ride alone on a roller coaster-- me and my motion sickness would be happy to skip that!), so I really do try to relish each moment, knowing that once this baby is born, I'll probably never feel kicks again or be able to watch my belly shift and squirm.  Miri has gotten the opportunity to feel some really good strong kicks in the last week, and it is hilarious to see her eyes light up in surprise and hear her giggle in amazement.  I still don't think she really "gets it" though... that she's going to have a brother or sister... who will be there to stay.  It will be an adjustment for all of us, I'm sure, but I sometimes worry about how much this is going to just rock Miri's little world.  However, she is so sweet and gentle, so wonderfully compassionate, and so incredibly easygoing that while I'm certain there will be some major jealousy and sibling rivalry along the way, I really think she's going to make one heck of a big sister.  Gummi Bear is a lucky baby to have Miriam.  Neither Jason nor I can imagine life without our respective siblings, and I'm so pleased we're able to give Miri that gift too.  88 days (actually probably less since I'm leaning towards a scheduled repeat c-section) until our little baby will be here!!!

 

Growing up and feeling down (sort of)

Growing up

Part of Daddy's job on this blog is to report Miri's updates from her doctor's appointments. Just over two weeks ago she had her 2 year appointment, and she is getting big! Height is 33in (25th percentile), weight is 22lbs13.5oz (20th percentile), and just for good measure...head size is 46.5cm (30 percentile). So when I say getting big...I mean big for Miri! She is still a little munchkin compared to others her age, but it doesn't seem to phase her! And it certainly doesn't phase Mommy and I! It makes it that much easier to pick her up and throw her over our shoulders when she's being "a 2 year old".

 

And speaking of being a 2 year old, Miri is no longer a 1 year old! She had her 2nd birthday party 3 weeks ago. It was a small "bash", but most of her favorite people were there! Of course Mommy and Daddy were there...and yes, Bear, Lambie, and Baby Sandie (all the usual suspects) were there too. But more importantly, both sets of grandparents were there as well! Whenever we are able to assemble Gammy & Grandpa R. and Gramma & G-pa B. (who came all the way from South Carolina) in one room, Alli and I consider Miri's "mind blown" (it's hard to contain THAT much excitement). Anyways, a great time was had by all at her zoo themed ("themed" used loosely) party. We started off at...well...the zoo! It was a beautiful day, so animals were out and very active. And Miri had her first ride on the zoo train. Lunch at the zoo, where Miri feasted on one of her favorite delicacies..."hot gog" with "hot gog bun". Home for nap, followed by presents(!!!), spinach & artichoke mac 'n' cheese, and birthday cake decorated with some of her favorite zoo animals. It was a great day and Miriam is really becoming a BIG GIRL!

Feeling down

As Allison mentioned a couple blog entries ago, I lost my job at the end of May. It was really tough on us, but there was one great thing that came out of it. I got to be a stay-at-home dad for the summer! Miri and I had a ton of fun and had a lot of bonding time. Of course we wish Mommy could have also been off with us all summer...but she was too busy working tons of extra hours (including Saturdays) to take care of us while I was job hunting (and playing with Miri). What a great mommy and wife! But back to us...Miri and I had tons of fun this summer...going on bike rides, playing and picnicking at all the parks in Germantown, doing arts and crafts, building forts, play dates with Erich and Maddie, events at the library, going to the zoo, playing in the water, etc. Don't get me wrong, it's definitely a tough job being a stay-at-home parent...making sure Miri ate/slept well and on schedule, having little to no adult interaction for days at a time, cleaning the house during short naps, etc...but the fun definitely out-weighs the not-so-fun!

"Feeling down?", you ask. "I don't understand why you would name this section Feeling down." Well, I'll tell you. My days as a stay-at-home dad have come to an end. I guess you could say I'm SAD about no longer being a SAHD. Get it? Man, I am creative.

(Sort of)

So that brings me to the last section of this blog entry. Although I am feeling down about no longer getting to spend day after day with my wonderful, hilarious, smart, beautiful daughter, I am feeling up (hence the "Sort of" feeling down) because I am now back to work. It is a huge weight off our shoulders, and I am completely grateful I was not out of work for much longer than I was. We definitely made some cuts this summer (not ramen noodles and powdered mac-n-cheese kind of cuts, but certainly some cuts), but it could have been much, much worse. Just happy that's all over with. Things are starting to get back to normal. It's tough to be back to work, but things could be tougher. And, one of the benefits of my new job, is that I'll be working from home so will get to see my girls a lot more! Yay for me!

Miri's turning 2

 

Our sweet baby girl will be 2 in a few hours.  I can't even tell you how sentimental it's making me.  I feel like I kind of took her first birthday in stride, but this year, it's really hitting me that she is growing up.  She still was such a baby at her first birthday, and although she'll ALWAYS be my baby girl, this year on her birthday, she's really not a baby anymore.  Seeing her grow and become her own little person is honestly the most amazing thing I've ever experienced, but at the same time, I sometimes just wish I could freeze her in this moment.  Especially right now.  She's becoming spunky and smart and independent, but she still thinks her parents are the greatest things since sliced bread, and she is so affectionate and loving and asks for snuggles and hugs and kisses about a million times a day.  At any rate, I have decided to share a list of Miri's current "favorites" to be able to look back on in another year (or 5 or 10 or 30) and remember exactly who she is at this moment in time.  This year, I am answering for her, but my plan is to try to do a similar "birthday questionnaire" on the eve of her birthday every year from now until she's 18 (or until she refuses to do it).

 

 

1. How old are you?  Miri actually answered this one herself.  See picture above, and imagine her little voice saying "One!"

2. Who is your best friend?  Mommy and Daddy (yes, I answered for her... but I think it's true!)

3. What are your favorite things to do?  Dance, read books, jump, swim, "snuggle in the big chair"

4. What is your favorite color?  Purple

5. What is your favorite food?  "Hot gog and hot gog bun", macaroni, fruit (especially blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and, recently, watermelon)

6. What is your favorite toy?  Books, dolls (especially Baby Sandie), puzzles, coloring and stickers, water table

7. What is your favorite book?  Anything we currently have checked out from the library, Winnie the Pooh Animal Encyclopedia, DOG by Matthew Van Fleet, Pat the Bunny, Time for Bed Little Red, Snappy Little Farm

8. Where are your favorite places to go?  Gammy and Grandpa's house, the zoo, the library, anywhere she can swim

9. What is your favorite snack?  "Booty" (aka Pirate's Booty white cheddar cheese puffs)

10. What is your favorite dessert?  ICE CREAM!

11. What do you like to take to bed with you at night?  Every night, Miri makes sure she has:  Bear, Cookie, Elmo, lovey, "flower geekut" (translation- flower blanket), "other geekut too" (pink and brown circles flannel blanket)

12. What is your favorite song/ music?  ABC song, Laurie Berkner "Rocketship Run" album, personalized Elmo album, Walking Walking Hop Hop Hop song, Hurry Hurry Drive the Fire Truck song, and.... "Rumour Has It" by Adele (hearing her sing that is sooooo cute!!!)

13. What is your favorite thing to wear?  Miriam is not demonstrating strong clothing preferences yet... but she always asks to wear "sandal shoes." 

14.  Trademark phrases:

• "MY DO IT!"
• "I got it, dude!" (We tried to teach her "You got it, dude" but she made it her own!)
• "Snuggle in the big chair?"
• "Hey kids, wanna play with Miri?"  (She yells this out the window if she hears kids playing outside)
• "Hi people!" and/or "Hi kids!"  (when out in public)
• "Is that a ____?"  (asked about 10 million times a day... and it always is whatever she is asking if it is... we don't know why she even asks!)
• "Mama/Daddy happy?"  (so sweet that she likes to check and see if we're happy)
• "Eat hungry!!!"
• "Miri/Mama/Daddy fall night-night"
• "No, my walking!"  (if you try to hold her hand or pick her up to carry her somewhere when she wants to walk)
• "NO WAY!"
• "Hey Jason!!!"  (oddly enough, she doesn't ever refer to Mommy as "Allison")

We love you so much, Miri-boo!  Can't wait to see what you learn this next year!!!

Life Changes and True Blessings

Well, if this blog is going to be an accurate record of the life and times of the Bashaw family, it's got to be a record of the hard times too, right? As anyone who follows this blog probably already knows, Jason was laid off from Red Prairie two and a half weeks ago, right before Memorial Day weekend. The company is doing some major corporate restructuring, and part of that included eliminating the resource management program and thus Jason's position. While Jason knew that something big was brewing within the organization of the company, I don't think he really anticipated this happening. This was a very low blow to our family, particularly with me only working 20 hrs/week since moving to Wisconsin. It is a very scary time for us, but Jason and I are very confident that we will persevere through this and come out stronger as a couple and a family on the other side. We are certain it will lead him to new career experiences and hopefully a much improved work-life balance. It's also solidly reinforced that we made the right decision to forego many "indulgences" over the last 5.5 years and save that money instead. And quite honestly, this is probably somewhat of a blessing in disguise. While it is true that many, probably even MOST, professional jobs in the business world these days are not 40-hour-a-week jobs, Jason has routinely worked 55-65 hour weeks for the past 17 months without the financial or professional praise rewards of which he was so deserving. He has poured blood, sweat, tears, and sleepless nights into this position and while he has admittedly gained some good experiences from his time there, the stress and long hours over time would NOT have been able to be maintained indefinitely without causing detriment to his health and/or his relationships with his wife and daughter. So we are finding the silver lining amongst this big storm cloud and hanging on to the outlook that, as my Dad always says, "this too shall pass." Hopefully sooner rather than later! We feel blessed to have each other and to have the most amazing child that either of us ever could have imagined. We feel fortunate to have the love and support of our family and friends. We will survive!

Onwards to happier news... We've had some great times w/ our siblings and nieces/nephews as of late! Adam, Rochelle, and Kaden (and LJ) were in town visiting over Memorial Day weekend. It was really nice to get to spend some quality time with them and to be able to celebrate Kaden's 7th birthday with her. I can scarcely believe she's 7! I remember meeting her for the first time when she was about 2.5. That adorable little toddler has grown into such a sweet, creative, and beautiful little girl, and we love her very very much. Here are some pics from their visit and Kaden's party.

Siblings and siblings-in-laws

Miri and Kaden dancing

The birthday girl!

This past weekend, the Thompson family came from Ohio to visit.  It was wonderful to see them.  We hadn't seen them since November, and it is amazing to see how much Desmond and Maggie have grown up in that time!  Des is now 2.5 years old.  He's such a great talker, a wonderfully sweet and compassionate little boy, and he just has the most fabulous joie de vivre!  He is a ton of fun.  Maggie is 7 months old now, and she is the happiest, most laid-back baby you can imagine.  When we visited the Thompsons for a weekend shortly after Maggie was born, I heard her cry only once that weekend, and I only heard her cry once this weekend.  Seriously, she is about as easygoing as they come!  It was a fun weekend of parks, splashpad, and lots of fun cousin playtime. Here are just a few picture highlights.

Miri entertaining Maggie

Miri and Des plotting their next adventure

Splash-tastic times!

As for Miss Miriam, she is growing like a weed-- physically and mentally.  Some pants and shirts that fit her perfectly just a month or so again are getting too short, although she's still a skinny little thing.  Her language has really exploded in about the past 1.5 to 2 months.  Her vocabulary is easily over 200 words.  I would say probably 80-90% of her utterances are 2 word phrases, and she's starting to have occasional 3 word phrases a couple times a day now too.  She loves music and singing these days, and her favorite toys are her baby dolls.  "Little Baby" and "Baby Sandie" (named after Miss Sandie, her beloved daycare teacher, who gave her the doll as a gift on her last day of daycare last week) have been going just about everywhere with her lately.  She is such a little nurturer.  If her babies cry, she holds them on her shoulder and bounces gently and shushes them.  When they are tired, she tucks them in for "night-night" with their loveys and rubs their backs.  She puts her babies in my lap with a book and asks me to read stories to them.  Today she taught Baby Sandie how to play with her "whack-a-ball" toy and used Baby Sandie's hand to push the balls into the slots.  It's really sweet to see her being a little mommy.   I have no doubt that she is going to be an amazing mommy herself some day (hopefully not for at least a good 28 years or so though)!  Miri also loves playing outside more than anything.  Whether it's taking a bike/wagon/"beep beep" ride, blowing bubbles in the yard, playing at the playground, or splashing at the splashpad, she is a happy girl to be outdoors.  She is such a tremendous joy and so much fun these days.  I have never known much Scripture, but for Miri's baptism, my mom framed a picture of her in a religious frame that pretty much says it all:  1 Samuel 1:27  "For this child I have prayed, and the Lord has granted me my request."