The Adventures of John and Lily

She's watching...

2012-01-31T17:12:00.000-08:00

EVERYTHING!! Seriously. Every afternoon John and Lily play together. John usually runs circles around her, and she watches his.every.move. And another thing? She rarely cries. Take a toy from her, or try to take something. I dare you. She screams. Loudly. Stares right at you and screams. It's kind of hilarious actually, because she is so strong willed and determined that her whole body tenses up and you know she is seriously pissed.

John

2012-01-29T05:00:00.001-08:00

Our busy boy. At 4.5 years he is really loving building, both with blocks and Lego's. The interesting thing about his building is it is usually exactly symmetrical, budding architect maybe? He hates following building directions with his Lego's, prefers to 'invent' things. Most days he tells us he is going to the moon, and we have been learning a lot about outer space lately. Every day is an adventure with this active little soul..

Miss Lily

2012-01-29T04:53:00.000-08:00

11 months old. She loves to ham it up, and really keep us on our toes!!

Aroha, Arohanui

2011-12-21T11:05:00.000-08:00

Last night I had an interesting experience with Lily. Around 1am she woke up and was whimpering. I left her for a few minutes, hoping she would soothe herself back to sleep. Slowly she started crying and I got up and went to her. She nursed hungrily for awhile, and let out some nice toots- something made her gassy I guess (who knows, this girl can toot with the best of them!). Anyways, after nursing for the better part of 90 minutes I was exhausted and she really need to go back to sleep. I had tried putting her in her bed a few times, but I guess her belly hurt too badly. I tried holding her belly to belly on me, but that made her arch her back and scream. The only position she was happy in was literally, her 'happy place'. Well, I wasn't up for that so I got her binky, and tried again to hug her to my chest. She was screaming but I took a deep breath to remain calm and started singing a song I learned in New Zealand to her...
Aroha, Arohanui
When a baby smiles, out comes the sun
Aroha, Arohanui
Love to all, love to everyone

Well... it did the trick! she was calmed down by the time I completed this short song one time, and asleep shortly after that. It may have been just a fluke, who knows. My girl and I have had this kind on connection since hours after her birth. The Peds doctors wanted to keep her with them for observation overnight, but the couldn't get her to settle and stop screaming. The minute they laid her next to me she was sound asleep. My Lily Girl. I can't believe she is 10 months old in a few days...

When I looked up the meaning of the Maori words this is what I found, it makes perfect sense to me :)

The word “Arohanui” is a Maori word and, as with many Polynesian words, there is no direct translation into English. The literal meaning is “big love”, or “much love” or “great love”. And, like most words in most languages, it has several meanings. In naming this book, “Arohanui: Letters from Shoghi Effendi to New Zealand”, “Arohanui” is used in its more expressive meaning, “enfolding love”, or “that love which binds a community together”, or “that love which creates bonds of mutual trust and loyalty”, or “that love which builds and carries forward culture or civilization”.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas.....

2011-12-20T11:29:00.001-08:00

Christmas is creeping up on us here in sunny Florida. Preparations are in full swing but it is difficult to truly get into the spirit when its in the 70's every day (not that I'm complaining!)

We originally wanted to get a real tree- one that we could plant after Christmas, but we found such an amazing deal on a 6.5' fake one that we couldn't pass it up. Besides, our yard is pretty full as it is! It was pretty special to decorate it. TQ and PopPop sent up a box of ornaments that were mine as a child, and Grandma and Grandpa also sent a box of pretty holiday things. I had such fun explaining all of the ornaments to John, including the egg shell that I remember making in first grade with Mr. Ramsey- Alexis' Dad. Oh, the memories.

John and I had planned on having a few of his friends over to decorate gingerbread men over the weekend, but instead John ended up at the Doctor on Friday after school and on breathing treatments after that... Oh well. Fingers crossed that we are all feeling better for Christmas!

Lily looks on as John learns how to use the nebulizer.

Poor baby.

To wrap it up... here are a couple fun pictures!

John.

2011-12-01T18:46:00.000-08:00

My boy. As active as ever. Many of the photos I try to take end up looking like this:

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He is making so many great friends at school. Today, he had a friend over and I heard the most amazing laughter coming out of his bedroom- what a joy! We've been working on his letters and writing lately, our front porch tiles and some sidewalk chalk have
turned out to be a great spot!

4 can be such a trying age, but there are many little things that get us through- just look at that sweet smile :)

9 months

2011-12-01T18:27:00.000-08:00

Lily turned 9 months on Thanksgiving day- November 24. She had her well baby check the other day and is weighing in at 17lbs 15oz and measures 28.5inches. Our baby is saying a few words with regularity- Daddy was the first word but has since included BAH BAH (bath) and NonNon (JohnJohn) and when she is really upset, Maaamaaa! She loves to eat and would gladly sit in her highchair snacking away for hours at a time. John will tell you 'Lily eats what she sees' and its the truth!
She truly is a delight... and a ham! Such a little model, always stopping to pose for the camera.

Playing Outside

2011-11-10T03:50:00.001-08:00

John has a cold, Lily is starting to get stuffy- ahh change of seasons... John spent most of yesterday afternoon in bed watching Cars 2 and resting. By around 4 he was overflowing with energy so we went outside to play. John has really been practicing his bike riding, determined to get those pesky training wheels off, we raised them up the other day but all that did was give him more clearance to do his 'tricks' (riding over the hose, pieces of wood etc.) He was riding in circles in the backyard and Lily was in the middle watching his every move.

Halloween Roundup

2011-11-07T07:09:00.000-08:00

Halloween went on forever down here. It fell on a Monday this year so the celebrations started on Saturday with Boo Fest at John's school. We all 'dressed up' this year, John was Buzz Lightyear and Jeff, Lily and I were the 3 Little Green Aliens from Toy Story. Sadly, we didn't win the family costume prize (we were robbed!) maybe next year...

Sunday was the Lincolnville Farmers Market. We all dressed up again and John got to trick-or-treat at the market stalls. The highlight of the day was when he met another Buzz Lightyear- it was truly a face off! I like our Buzz wings better :)

Monday was Halloween and there was a class party at school. He mixed it up a little and dressed as NASA-Buzz, in his orange NASA jumpsuit with his Buzz Lightyear belt and wings. It also happened to be one of John's classmates birthday so in addition to the Halloween festivities his class had pizza and cupcakes! We are so lucky to have a very active parent group in school, I think we had the best class party there, I mean, who could compete with freeze dance to 'Thriller' and 'Monster Mash'?!?

Monday night it was time to Trick-or-Treat in the neighborhood. After dinner John got dressed up yet again and he and Jeff went out walking. Lily and I stayed home and handed out candy, she had a blast dumping out the basket of candy and playing with it. John and Jeff were gone for hours, they met up with one of John's friends Reef and his parents and the boys had a great time trick-or-Treating together!

At some point during all of the hoopla John said to us "Halloween sure does last a long time" I think he was getting a little worn out with all the activity. He ended up with a ton of candy, most of which he doesn't eat (John doesn't like most candy, lucky us!) so the 'Candy Fairy' made a visit to our house. You see, you can trade candy in and get a toy, book, game etc. John decided this sounded like a good deal (he was pretty sure he'd get another lego Buzz) so he traded. He didn't get Lego Buzz, but he did get a Solar System mobile to hang in his room. We put together all of the planets and followed the directions on how to hang them around the sun. We have yet to paint them, we are waiting for a quiet day while Lily is napping, but it is hanging in his room and we have done a lot of talking about the planets. When asked, he now says he is going to be an Astronaut when he grows up. In fact, the other day he said to me "Its about time for me to get to the Moon." I don't think I'm quite ready for that!

Some Pictures

2011-10-28T11:16:00.000-07:00

Notes

2011-10-24T07:39:00.000-07:00

Lily at 8 months...

My darling Lily,

Today you are 8 months old and I don't know where the time has gone! You are growing up so fast. Lily, you have 2 teeth now and I'm sure more are on the way soon. You chew on EVERYTHING and drool constantly. Today you decided to start crawling- such a milestone for the 8 month mark! We vacuumed the carpet today because you are determined to pick up (and eat) even the tiniest thing you can pick up.
You are an independent little soul, Lily. Quick to show your temper when things aren't just the way you want them. You are a flirt, oh so social. When we are out and about and there is nobody but me to talk to you sometimes get a little grumpy, but as soon as there is someone new to talk to you are all smiles and dimples... Oh dimples. You have 2, but they are both in the same cheek! Someday I will capture a photo of them.
Lily, you are so special. I love the way your face lights up when you see your Daddy. I love the way John makes you laugh, a full genuine belly laugh. I love the way you need me, the way you calm down in my arms when you are sad or scared. I love the way you clap your hands. I love the way you cross a room just to get at a tiny piece of paper. I love your wispy hair that seems to grow while you sleep. I love the way you pose for the camera and crinkle your nose when you smile. I love your giggles when I change your diaper and tickle your tummy. I love, You.

Love, Mommy.

Cloth Diapers- DIY Style

2011-09-29T17:17:00.000-07:00

For awhile I've been wanting to try Lily in cloth diapers, actually since before she was born. But due to all the moving around we were doing it just didn't work. I have, however, had the chance to do a lot of research! We already had some g-diaper outer pants and Conor and Shannon gave us a FuzziBunz AI2 diaper. Also, a friend gave us a whole stack of flat-fold-diapers (basically a huge cloth that you fold to fit what you need). In my research I found tutorials for making your own inserts that will work both in the g-pants and the FuzziBunz. The real bonus was I already had all of the materials, so the out of pocket cost is NIL.

I used fleece and a swaddle blanket. Cut both to fit into the g-diaper insert- aprox. 5"X16". Cut 3 layers of the fleece and 1 layer of the flannel blanket.

(John took the photo of me sewing, pretty good huh?)

Once all 4 layers were sewed together (rounded the corners to fit a bit more snug) I put the insert right into the snap-in-liner and popped the diaper right onto Lily!

Doesn't she look adorable with her little g-bum?

It needs a bit of tweaking, but I think we're getting there!

One Particular Day...

2011-09-22T07:28:00.000-07:00

Mornings are busy in our house. Since school started it has been a race to get everyone up, dressed, fed and out the door in time. To complicate matters, Jeff started working last week so now I have 2 lunches to make in the morning! Lily has been sleeping great (10 hours a couple times!) but wakes up early (6 or 6:30) which is actually good because I get quiet time with her to nurse before John gets up.
Typically- Lily was up at 6:30, John shortly thereafter. John watched PBS kids for a little while after inhaling a big bowl of cereal (he is growing, its like we can't feed him enough!). Lily nurses and then eats her solids around 8. I drink my coffee (I learned how to set the coffee timer so its ready when I get up!) and then I make lunches. Jeff sits with Lily (often catching up on email or ebay at the same time) and is out the door on his bike before 8. At some point John gets dressed, almost always by himself (yay!) I dress Lily- she has to eat her solids in just a diaper because food for her is a total sensory experience! And somehow I dress myself. By 8:40 John, Lily and I are packed in the car and on our way to school.

This morning was no different than other days, except for one thing. The car ride on our way to school. I hear "Hey Momma" from the backseat. "Yes, John?" "can you turn up the song?" We are listening to Jimmy Buffet's 'One Particular Harbor' and I hear John singing along. The lyrics are:

IA ORA TE NATURA
E MEA AROFA TEIE AO NEI
IA ORA TE NATURA
E MEA AROFA TEIE AO NEI
Ua pau te maitai no te fenua
Re zai noa ra te ora o te mitie

Which is Tahitian and translated means:
"Nature lives (life to nature),
Have pity for the Earth, (Love the Earth)"
"Bounty of the land is exhausted,
But there's still abundance on the sea."

Priceless.

Twinkle Twinkle take 2

2011-09-10T08:26:00.000-07:00

Twinkle Twinkle

2011-09-10T04:16:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to post this for a long time. John adores his sister and loved singing to her when she was tiny- Lily is under 3 weeks old here. I'm so glad I grabbed the camera and caught this (through my tears!)...

Talking

2011-09-10T03:53:00.000-07:00

Lily is one talkative little girl, I wonder where she gets that from.... :)

Bathtime Fun!

2011-08-30T17:59:00.000-07:00

Since Lily is such a good sitter all of a sudden we've started having a lot more fun, especially at bath time! John is having such fun playing in the tub with her, and teaching her to splash Mommy!!

These are the fun times...

A photo catch up

2011-08-28T17:42:00.000-07:00

Whew.
We've been busy lately! Sorry for the lack of photos but moving into a new house with 2 small children is a big task... We are settling into our new house and I promise to write more about that soon. Until then here is a sneak peek into the kids rooms::

John's closet door, cool huh?

John's shelf, one of the 4 bookshelves that his Great Grandfather made.

Lily's dresser and shelves. These used to be mine, as did all of the Beatrix Potter figurines (and a few others) that now live in Lily's space.

Lily's chair, can you believe this beauty was on the side of the road?! Jeff just had to glue it up a bit and we washed the fabric cushions, its perfect for those late night feeds :)

Now onto the important stuff... Kiddos!
At 6 months old, Lily is loving food! She sits well and rolls all over the floor to get to what she wants. She is a persistent little soul, focused on the goal in front of her (usually a piece of carpet lint or something else she shouldn't have). She has been a pure joy to be around, especially since her moods have improved with her sleep!

Sweet John. What can I say? He is 4. He is obsessed with Buzz Lightyear and is a whiz on the computer. These days he is a sponge and asks questions that seemingly come out of nowhere, who knew he was actually listening to NPR in the backseat of the car? He starts preschool tomorrow, our little boy is growing up...

Careful the things you say...

2011-07-18T09:54:00.000-07:00

Careful the things you say
Children will listen
Careful the things you do
Children will see and learn
Children may not obey, but children will listen
Children will look to you for which way to turn
To learn what to be
Careful before you say 'Listen to me'
Children will listen

-Stephen Sondheim, Into The Woods

I though of this the other day when TQ told this little story::
"I was in the laundry room folding clothes and John walked in, held something up and said 'Biteen, what the hell is this?'"

Oh boy, are we in trouble...

Swinging!

2011-07-16T06:15:00.000-07:00

Food, Glorious Food

2011-07-16T06:05:00.000-07:00

Over the last few weeks Lily has started showing a keen interest in food. I've been trying to hold her off, but the other night at dinner when she literally grabbed pasta from my plate we decided it was time.

After some research we decided sweet potatoes would be a good first food. Jeff picked some up and we mixed it with a bit of mama-milk to thin it and make the flavor a bit more familiar. We got Lily all strapped into her cool seat and put a bib on. She was loving all of the attention and flashed some smiles at us.

She was pretty unsure at first...

But we kept trying and at the and she seemed pretty happy!

To Infinity

2011-07-12T10:52:00.001-07:00

AND BEYOND!!!

John's alter ego- Buzz LightYear. He and I made the wings today while Lily took a loooong nap (she is still sleeping!!)
I love my boy :)

July Pics

2011-07-10T12:30:00.000-07:00

Me and my girl...

Lily and Danny, aren't they cute in their babylegs and Shibori from Three Pines Studio?

2011-07-10T12:22:00.000-07:00

This is how John and Owen look at the beginning of the week::

And this is how they look after 7 days of full-on FUN (and not much sleep)::

beauty

2011-06-22T07:52:00.000-07:00

On John's birthday we were in Chicago at Dan and Erin's house. Lucky for us Ken, Kristen Ariana and Parker were coming into the city that day and were able to come for dinner! The cousins had such a blast playing together, John and Parker got on like gangbusters! It was so fun to watch them laugh and get into mischief together, John copying everything his big cousin did. Ariana simply adored Lily, and Lily gazed at Ari for a long time, never breaking eye contact. These two are the only girls in the bunch, they've got to stick together!
When they arrived the outside light was just beginning to fade and the sky was looking a little dark and heavy with rain. Kristen grabbed her camera, a chair and Lily and snapped a few shots. Seriously, there was no planning on these and they were literally taken in less than 5 minutes, I think we did okay! Thank you Kristen, for your talent and impulse, we love you!!!

We also managed to get John to slpw down long enough to take a couple shots... my sweet boy, I can't believe he is 4!!

My Amazing Family

2011-04-03T19:07:00.000-07:00

There are moments when I feel so overwhelmed with emotion that I don't know if I should laugh or cry... I am so lucky and blessed by the beauty of my family!

A Comparison

2011-03-24T20:34:00.000-07:00

Lily at 5 days and John at 2 months, in the same outfit... This blows my mind!

2 weeks

2011-03-10T17:23:00.000-08:00

Its hard to believe that our Lily is already 2 weeks old! She was weighed yesterday and is really close to being back to her birth weight. Things are so different this time around, I have been able to feed my precious baby *almost* all alone! Due to her size and demand we are doing 1 formula supplement at night. Its a little hard because as yet she has not had a bottle so Jeff is missing out on that part, but he is making up for it with lots of cuddles:)
John is completely smitten, he wants nothing more than to cuddle and kiss his sister. Last night he couldn't even hug me at bedtime because he was saving them all for Lily. It warms my heart to know the love he has for her, as he reminds us every day, he is "Lily's Protector".

LILY COMES HOME

2011-03-01T15:32:00.000-08:00

Lillian Moana

2011-02-26T01:55:00.000-08:00

TQ and PopPop in New Zealand:: A Photo Journey

2011-02-20T12:50:00.001-08:00

Oh, and this is what I've been up to these last weeks...

Sunday, Funday

2011-02-06T16:59:00.000-08:00

The weekends have taken on a whole new meaning since Jeff started working a 'real' 9-5 job (actually 8-4:30). Although we always seem to have chores and errands to run, we have really been making quality family time a priority.

Yesterday was HOT. Seriously. 33 Celcius which translates to roughly 91 Farenheit. However, I am trying to take advantage of this increased energy before Lily comes and I turn into a zombie so I got up and made Crepes! I've never done them before but they turned out amazing (a little on the thick side, but practice makes perfect). We had Nashi Pears from our neighbors tree (best neighbors ever!) so I made warmed pear with cinnamon, strawberries with sugar and had 2 kinds of yogurt to have in the crepes. We weren't sure how John would react, but I think the pictures speak for themselves... he ate more than I did!

After breakfast we went over to Waikawa Bay where the boat is and Jeff did some chores aboard while John and I played at the park. We ran into some friends there and made plans to meet later in the afternoon for a swim at the beach. After lunch and a siesta we made our way back to Waikawa. Hanging out with friends at the beach was a great way to spend the afternoon! John has been making great progress with his confidence swimming, he went all the way up to his armpits in the water and even went underwater without drinking the seawater (yes, the underwater part was an accident). Our friends brought their kayak down to the beach with them and Jeff took John out for a paddle, the wind had picked up considerably but he had a good time.

I wish I could say we all slept well last night, but John ended up with a fever and it was too hot to sleep well anyways... Oh well. It has cooled down a lot today, with a high of just 24C (75F) so unless Lily decides to make some progress tonight I'll be catching up on my sleep!

New Developments

2011-02-06T16:41:00.001-08:00

It feels like John is growing by leaps and bounds these days... I don't often have the camera to capture these changes, but here are a few of the newest interests/developments in our world.

John has been really interested in learning his letters lately- so a little sidewalk chalk out on our black deck has been great- lets just hope it washes away :) Oh, and the practice is paying off- he can now write his name and ABBY- sometimes the letters are out of order and sometimes perfectly backwards, but he's really getting it- and so proud!!!

Another thing he has recently mastered: the 'fireman pole' at the playground... he doesn't even call out for a spotter anymore!

Our little architect has also been building a ton with his magformers. We out the 'directions' away and let him just imagine- he described this creation as a car carrier for on a ship- yes, he is his fathers' son...

Also on his list of new interests is a fascination with playing dress up... I think he makes a pretty cute knight :) Thank goodness for Playcentre and their full closet of dress up clothes!

How Low Can You GO?

2011-02-01T12:41:00.001-08:00

Well, its February 2 and we are just about 2 weeks from Lily's official due date. The random ladies on the street (library, supermarket etc) have been commenting lately that she has 'dropped'... What do you think? I say- Lets get this party started!!

Oops

2011-01-15T18:54:00.000-08:00

We did it again! A sneak peek at PlayPen, our Searunner 34. Look for more info on lastparadisesailing.blogspot.com

Waiting for Lily

2011-01-15T18:44:00.000-08:00

Lilies in our garden... so beautiful!

33 weeks:

35 weeks:

Whew. It makes me tired just looking at the pictures!

RoundUp

2011-01-15T18:13:00.000-08:00

Its been awfully busy here lately- sorry for the lack of new pictures for those of you who still look!
Since I last posted, Christmas and New Years have both happened, we are now half way into January and sweet Lily is due in a mere 4 weeks! John has been out of school on their summer holidays, it starts again January 31 and we can't wait- he talks about it daily and can't wait to bring his baby sister there to show her off (one of his classmates did that last term).
Without further delay, here are a few pictures from the last few weeks.

Christmas morning/day...

While Jeff and John hiked all the way up here:

I stayed home and did this:

Oh my gosh, we are surrounded by pink!!

Me and my little boy...

Christmas happens again: Presents arrive from the USA! Thank you everyone!!!

A grumpy pirate, but a happy and very silly boy...

Comparison...

2010-12-13T16:57:00.000-08:00

Well, Lily is growing- there is no doubt about that! Photos just a few short weeks apart!

These two I took yesterday, December 13...

And this one was taken on November 22...

Surf and Turf

2010-12-13T16:46:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend our landlord's son was in town with some mates fishing. The last time they were in we ended up with a few fillet's of fresh fish. It was pretty windy over the weekend and they ended up diving instead of rolling around on the boat getting sick, so there were no fillets waiting for us this time. However, they did end up grabbing loads of scallops! For those of you who don't know, scallops are one of my absolute favorite foods! We had already planned on having steak for dinner so we had surf and turf with the freshest scallops you can imagine, and local to boot! YUM. Even John ate one and said "mmm, these are nice"... I sauteed them in butter and then added a splash of savignon blanc to make a little sauce- amazing.

This is what scallops look like, you get rid of the orange bit before you cook them. Scallops for sale in the grocery store are often times not really scallops, they're hole punched sting ray, shark etc. Sneaky, huh?

Just me

2010-12-03T12:41:00.000-08:00

And My Dad...

John has really had a hard time with Jeff starting work. For the last 3 years we've had a pretty cushy life, John had both parents with him all the time. It took us a week or so to figure out what was the cause of so much separation anxiety, but this seems to be the key. We've started having special Daddy/John time when the 2 of them go to the park, putter in the garage or simply watch something together on TV. It seems to have helped. Yesterday at the library John wanted to get this book, as a special present for Dad... Just melted my heard to hear Jeff read it to John while John cuddled right up next to him. My boys, they're two peas in a pod.

Twinkle Twinkle

2010-11-30T14:09:00.000-08:00

John sang this last night to his sister- it was the cutest thing. Sadly, to recreate it today I had to bribe him with a chocolate chip cookie fresh from the oven... oh well, its still cute!

Belly

2010-11-20T19:45:00.000-08:00

WOW, these did not turn out very good! John had his little fingers all over the lens today- can you tell? Anyways, here are the latest pics! I'm currently 27 weeks and ALL belly.

Jeff says I hardly look pregnant from the back, what do you think? I'll try to get some better pics next time :)

Its the Little Things,

2010-11-20T10:26:00.001-08:00

That Make a House, A Home.

a special mug...

a little project...

a boy sleeping peacefully on a saturday afternoon...

a family of shoes...

good coffee on a rainy sunday...

Life is Good.

Building

2010-11-17T10:21:00.000-08:00

John is OBSESSED with CARS the movie. Last Christmas Grandma and Grandpa Goff bought him a CARS tent and 2 of the little toys. We hadn't seen the movie yet, but he thought they were pretty cool anyways. Well, fast forward to today. He's watched the movie no less than 100 times- sometimes he tries to sneak in a second time in a day! The cars go with us everywhere. At dinner he tells us stories of the movie plot, about the different characters (for example, Chick Hicks is a bully- good learning opportunity there!)
Lately he has also been using another (AMAZING) Christmas present from G&G- the MagFormers. Seriously, best toy ever. Building roads is a pretty fun pastime when Mommy says 'NO' to watching the movie again!

Furniture

2010-11-14T12:47:00.000-08:00

Not too bad for a garage sale! We found these 2 pieces for about $50 (plus she threw in a few other things). Its really a shame we didn't buy the bed we looked at last week, it would have made a perfect retro set!
The part I didn't count on was scrubbing off the grime left by smoke and dirty fingers, worst part of the job was finding a piece of a fingernail in one of the drawers- EEWWWW!!! After about 2 hours they're all nice and shiny, and our clothes are off the floor and put away, yay!

*BONUS* this one is just about right for a changing table!

'MO'

2010-11-13T13:05:00.000-08:00

Jeff is participating in 'MO'vember here. That means for the month of November he is growing a mustache to raise money for men's health here in New Zealand. I'm not sure how I feel about the MO. No, I am sure. I don't like it... BUT its for a good cause. John thinks it looks silly, giggles when he looks at it closely, its pretty funny. What do you think?

John's Space

2010-11-11T11:12:00.000-08:00

John has his very own room! Its so cute, small but just what he needs! We found a bed for him at a garage sale, the guy gave it to us (frame and mattress) plus a blanket, 3 pillows, a wool blanket and a sheepskin mattress topper all for $20!! A deal if you ask me! The bed is nice, its not just a frame it has a real wood headboard and footboard. Can you tell this mommy is excited that her little boy has his own space? Jeff and I are still on a mattress on the floor, but John is all hooked up :)

Last night he even had a little friend over! Olivia is 6 and she stays with her grandparents next door after school. Can you tell John is smitten!

Keep the door open little man!

Firsts

2010-11-07T17:22:00.000-08:00

John on his first day of kindy (preschool). He goes 3 days per week for 2 hours, so far he is loving it, though by Thursday he is so exhausted he can hardly see straight. When I picked him up last Thursday he burst into tears, for no apparent reason- poor little guy!

View from the back, all ready to go! (PS: buttons on the back are- I *heart* NZ, a weinermobile, redwings, ups store, and a sunflower, we're trying to represent!!!)

Jeff's first day of work

And last, but not least... The first 'decent' picture John has taken of me! Actually, he told me he was taking it of Lily, such a cute big brother :)

Hawaii

2010-10-19T17:22:00.000-07:00

John conquered the Pacific... Our little water baby!!!

A surfer on the beach even commented that John would be on a board soon... we'll see!!! He does fit right in here on the beach :)

IT'S A.....

2010-09-23T12:35:00.001-07:00

GIRL!!!

Handsome Boy

2010-09-22T07:07:00.000-07:00

My handsome baby, who looks more like a little man these days... He is growing up so fast!

A Comparison

2010-09-22T06:22:00.001-07:00

Me at 18 weeks with Johnny:

18 Weeks with Thing 2:

Tomorrow we'll find out if Thing 2 is a sister or a brother, I'll keep you posted!
**Please excuse the photo quality, I took them myself!**

Bubby's (again)

2010-09-12T04:59:00.000-07:00

I know this blog has become a bit of a tribute to John and Owen lately, but how could I pass up these pictures?!

Johnny John

2010-08-26T05:15:00.000-07:00

John was a little late with talking. Don't get me wrong- he was extremely vocal from an early age, he just didn't say many real words. Well, he caught up and them some! Sometimes his vocabulary blows us out of the water and I think his PopPop gets excited about sharing his love of language with him. For example, the other day he wanted to do something and wad told to ask Mommy if it was ok. He didn't miss a beat but looked straight at PopPop and said "My mudder dave me permission!" well, wouldn't most 3 year olds say "mommy said I can!" Maybe I'm just being proud of my little man, but I do think its extremly cute!

Probably the best is recently though. John has many nicknames:: Johnny-O, Johnny, John-John, Goober, Bug, JohnnyJohn etc. In fact, he'll introduce himself to strangers now as Johnny (so cute!) Well, the JohnnyJohn one has seemed to stick lately, maybe it is because Aunt Mandy is the one who most regularly calls him that and she was just here for a few days. Well, he has started calling me "MommyMom" and this morning he told me he was "coldieCold" I wonder what is next?? This boy never ceases to amaze us or make us laugh, what a joy it is to be his MommyMom!!!

Bubby's

2010-08-22T14:38:00.001-07:00

Visiting

2010-08-22T12:07:00.000-07:00

Mandy came up to visit with Owen and Julian these past few days while Jed was camping in Wisconsin for Danny's bachelor party. The boys had a blast, and there were less tears and fighting than we had anticipated (based on behavior from the 4th of July)! These boys kept us all busy and are paying the price now, in fact John is napping as I type this because he could hardly keep his eyes open after 'Bubby Owen' left after lunch!

We had a lot of outside play- in between the rain showers! Swim suits are optional at the 'real house'!

Saturday we made the trek down to Petoskey to the Petoskey Festival on the Bay, which turned out to be like a fair for the kids. The children's area was quite nice, but it had rained the night before so it was really soggy! The boys did a few games but had more fun with the free stuff (smart kiddos!) We ended up at the playground that is in the same location with John and Owen splashing in the water. They both rode back to the house naked because their Mommies forgot to bring a change of clothes- lesson learned!

This is how the days ended... does life get any better?

Our Little Secret

2010-07-31T05:25:00.000-07:00

That's right, we are adding another crew member sometime in February. John is thrilled to be a big brother and is showing (maybe too much?) interest in how exactly the baby is going to get out. This mornings quote was 'the baby will pop out like an egg!' Oh boy...

Birthday, Part 2

2010-07-18T11:34:00.001-07:00

So sorry for the long wait for these!

We celebrated John and Owen's birthday on the Sunday after their actual birthday. I think we are really perfecting this 'kid' birthday thing!

Jed and Mandy outdid themselves yet again with the cake!

This isn't a very good photo, but I love Owen's face in the background!

I think they like it!

After cake we did the Pinata that Grandma Brooks and Grandpa Doug got for the boys. Thank goodness Greta and Spencer were there with their strong arms, I'm not sure the boys could've done it themselves :) They were surprisingly good at taking turns with the baseball bat, even Julian got a chance at the end!

Birthday, Part 1

2010-07-08T05:37:00.000-07:00

We got to celebrate part 1 of John's 3rd birthday with Grandma and Grandpa, what fun! John especially liked the decorations all over the house, oh, and the cupcakes :)

Bucket Boy

2010-07-07T07:16:00.000-07:00

Playing on the beach with Daddy, I laughed out loud looking at this series of photos!

Quest

2010-05-23T18:34:00.001-07:00

John and Binda Teen...

On a Quest...

In the Woods...

For the Wild Rhubarb!!!

This is the end result- delish. Thanks John and Binda Teen!

Happy Birthday Julian!

2010-05-18T18:40:00.000-07:00

Julian is 1!!! I can't believe that my sweet little nephew Baby J (we are totally going to have to get a new name for him!) is 1! We were able to be in Rockford for a little party for him over the weekend, we missed Owens 1st birthday (I was a little busy that day) so I was glad to make this one!

Bubby Owen!!!

2010-05-18T18:34:00.001-07:00

This is John, sound asleep with the map on his lap- he was looking to see Bubby Owen's house! He couldn't wait to get there, especially after many many days in the van.
After a day at Owen's house though, the two boys were found here

side by side in the time-out-chairs many times... these two just get so excited to be together! Oh, John and Owen... I can't wait to see what the future holds for you guys, the Birthday Buddies!

Visit

2010-05-18T18:26:00.001-07:00

The other day we had a wonderful visit with Grandma and Grandpa Goff... Again, I'll have to get copies of some of the photos from them, but I did get some of John and Grandma playing at a local park, what a fun afternoon!

Daddy's Boy

2010-04-29T11:12:00.000-07:00

John has always been a Mama's Boy, and really he still is. But lately there have been times when he only wants his Dad.
For example:: John has a puzzle that is a toolkit. He will carry the puzzle out into the garage where Jeff is working and say "Mama, go away. I'm going to help MY DAD"

I just love watching Jeff take the time to teach and seeing how John really cherishes his time with Daddy.

Moose, or Mousse?

2010-04-18T06:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday John and Gramma Queen had a bit of fun in the kitchen, making Chocolate Mousse for dessert. I'm not sure which part John enjoyed more, cooking and licking the spoon or eating the finished product!

I don't think they liked it...

Big Boy...

2010-04-17T10:05:00.000-07:00

As John gets closer to his 3rd birthday I find myself looking at him with a teary eye. These days he is looking more and more like a big boy and less like a baby. I've been keeping his hair longer since his first haircut and I think it made his face still look round a chubby like a baby, but last week I gave him a real 'big boy' haircut...

You might remember this, his twirling obsession. Well, its gotten a lot more consistent in the last weeks as our family has been transitioning (again) and moving around more. His fingers were getting stuck often (yes, even in his sleep sometimes) and he was waking up with knots so thick they were like dread locks. It was time. He is nearly 3, and a real big boy.

Easter Weekend

2010-04-07T07:58:00.000-07:00

Wow, I really did not take enough pictures of the fun we had at the "Real House"! Maybe it was a bit too busy?? With 8 adults, 3 kids and 5 dogs it was a bit of a madhouse, but super fun! John and Owen are truly buddies, at least most of the time :) And Julian isn't far behind!!!

Dancin' in their underpants- John preferred to wear them as a hat :)

LOOK UP!!!

SOO much time spent right here, bonding and watching movies with TQ and PopPop...

'twins' at the farm

OH, Julian!

Goodbye Hugs... so sad to say goodbye after such a great few days.

Busy Week

2010-03-27T12:10:00.001-07:00

We've been busy packing up everything on our beloved Last Paradise this week. John, however, has not stopped being cute!

A Story

2010-03-23T05:20:00.000-07:00

Setting the scene::

We are sitting at the table having breakfast. As usual, NPR is on in the background. It is the annual Spring Pledge Drive and the hosts were talking about how they need extra help because they aren't affiliated with a major University and don't have a 'sugar daddy'. Jeff and I looked at each other at the use of the term 'sugar daddy' laughed and made some jokes. John, in all of his innocence, looked at Jeff and said
"YOU don't have sugar, my Daddy".....

Can he get any cuter?

Who Says?!

2010-03-21T09:05:00.000-07:00

Who says you can't ride a bike on deck?
In your monster jammies?
And 'Setlla' slippers?

I CAN!!!

Puddin'

2010-03-21T08:59:00.000-07:00

John has a new favorite treat- pudding! We normally never buy single-serving packaged things, but for passages its nice to have midnight snacks of granola bars and pudding cups. John discovered them recently and LOVES them, he tells me his favorite flavor is 'tap-ee-oh-ta!'
Darn. Thats my favorite!

The best part is the 'pudding fight' we get to have at the end! Oh, its fun to be a kid!!!

Charleston

2010-03-17T12:04:00.000-07:00

March 13 was our 6th Wedding Anniversary. We were in Charleston, SC and had planned on spending the day exploring the downtown. That morning I got up and made a wonderful breakfast of french toast, bacon and fresh coffee (french press, not our usual instant!). John inhaled his breakfast, he says it is his favorite and we began getting ready to go into town. Just after putting clean clothes on John he belched, and said "Barf Bucket!" but it was too late.... What a way to start the day! After emptying his stomach John insisted he felt "so much better" so we loaded up and got in the dingy for our trek to the (overpriced) City Marina.

On our way we saw a boat that had broke loose of its mooring and was drifting out to sea with the *strong* outgoing tide. We caught up with it and attempted to deploy an anchor, but it was locked down tight and we couldn't get it loose. We kept going into the marina and were alerted that the Coast Guard had called SeaTow (they apparently only rescue people not vessels. ahem.

Well, we found the dingy dock and Jeff went to check us in and pay, its $5 just to tie the little dingy there! We managed to get them to let us fill our 3 water cans, we are a young family after all ;)

Walking around Charleston was fun. John was pretty exhausted after his rough morning so he spent most of the day in his backpack, lucky guy! We didn't quite know where to begin and we only had the morning- John still naps. So we found the street with all the shopping and just had fun window shopping in all of the boutiques. For lunch, John insisted he wanted a hamburger so we went to a place called 5 guys which I had read good reviews about in the local paper. The burgers were awesome, and the fries were better! I think John was still feeling a little off, he only ate a few bites and said he was done. At this point I was only really concerned with him drinking as much water as possible- he has 'stored food' as they say :)

One of the best parts of the day was back at the dingy dock when Jeff got the water cans out to fill. John LOVES this job and was a great helper- he even put the caps on himself! (righty tighty, they're never too young to learn that one!)

All in all, a great day. Happy Anniversary Jeffy!

LEGO fun

2010-03-07T10:59:00.001-08:00

One night while I was cleaning up from dinner, Jeff and John played LEGO's... I had such a good time watching them build this tower higher and higher! What a great building team!!!

Little STY Guy...

2010-03-07T10:52:00.000-08:00

Poor little Johnny has been plagued with Sty's in one eye for the last few months. It seems that every time we get rid of one, another pops up in its place :( We've been doing a warm compress to help draw out the sty, and at first John HATED it. Actually, he still does, but he tolerates it much better when he gets to lounge on pillow's with his little TV on his lap (Thomas is playing, of course)!!

ABC's

2010-02-18T12:22:00.000-08:00

John has been working on his ABC's, I think he's getting pretty good! Funny thing is he just started singing them one day, we aren't quite sure where he picked it up- maybe from Dora?

A Little Bike Ride

2010-02-16T11:17:00.000-08:00

As you may know, John doesn't get a lot of time to practice bike riding. Over last summer he tried a few times, but the driveway at the 'real house' is hilly and he fell over one too many times. He was pretty unsure about trying this tricycle, but with a little coaxing from Mommy he gave it a go. He did pretty well once he figured out the foot-pedal concept!

Oh, Friends...

2010-02-13T12:54:00.000-08:00

Over the past few weeks, we have been in Fort Myers Beach tying up a few loose ends (more on that later) We made some new friends about a month ago, at the park! Since then they have become near and dear to our heart. We've even been able to have the boat behind their house which has been a real help! John has had them over to his 'big boat' to play a few times. This has been a real learning experience for John, to say the least! He's learning to share!

John and Aeden fishing- or fighting over the fishing rod...

Myra and John 'cheese!'

John and 'Daddy Aaron' playing trains at Kelton's house- so much fun!

Myra and Aeden are twins who are about 8 months older than John. Kelton is another buddy who just turned 3, it was at his birthday party that we were absorbed by this wonderful group of friends!

Somehow I am often without the camera, but I promise I'll get some pics of the whole group together at some point before we leave!

Funny Face

2010-02-07T08:07:00.000-08:00

John catching up on the happenings in his hometown of Nashville this morning on NPR- I don't think he likes the sound of President Palin!

Good thing he is a Kiwi too!

In Limbo...

2010-02-05T10:55:00.000-08:00

There are many definitions for the word 'limbo', mostly going back to Catholicism and medieval times. However, there is a widely accepted modern definition- this is what my favorite Wikipedia has to say:
'Differing slightly from the original meaning, in colloquial speech, "limbo" is any status where a person or project is held up, and nothing can be done until another action happens'

This is where we are right now, in the modern definition of Limbo. I'll fill you in on all of the details as we know more- but in the meantime, we've been making the most of the situation. We have great new friends and playmates for John (I'll do another whole post on all of that).

Until next time... Cheers!

Sunday- FUNday!

2010-01-17T11:18:00.000-08:00

A glimpse into the fun we had today- people were staring we were laughing so loudly! Can you tell John is *Captain Safety* these days? It only took one fall and he wanted his helmet and 'padding' (lifejacket).

Christmas

2009-12-29T11:08:00.000-08:00

Christmas with John this year was amazing. It was so fun to see the excitement and joy on his face now that he sort of 'gets' it!

The tree. Notice all of the ornaments are missing from the bottom- we had to move them because John was way too interested!

Hanging out in his new 'Cars' tent.

Gift Time!!!

By the end, John was a pro at opening presents :)

Taking a break to read a book with Mommy. John didn't really understand the whole open all of the presents and then play concept, he wanted to play immediately following each one!

Oh Lego's!!!

Playing 'Magformers' (complete with sound effects, see the tongue?!)

'Magformers' are the BEST toy. I'm not sure who is having more fun, John or the adults! He loves it when Mommy builds a tower and he gets to knock it down... I'd recommend them to everyone with a curious child, the instructions say ages 6+ but at 2.5 John does great with them. Unfortunately we can't take them on the boat because the magnets will mess with the compass, which is very important :(

Santa!

2009-12-25T12:24:00.000-08:00

We are in Venice, Florida at Grandma and Grandpa Goff's house for Christmas. On Christmas Eve, Santa came by boat (!!) to the clubhouse for a little celebration. All the children (about 15 grandchildren of residents here) gathered at the top of the steps and then followed Santa and Mrs. Claus into the clubhouse to sit on Santa's lap and get a little goody bag. I was a little worried about what John's reaction to a 'real' Santa might be, especially because he didn't nap at all and was a bit cranky by 6:30PM. I shouldn't have worried. John was waiting at the top of the dock steps for Santa, grinning and jumping up and down excitedly. He then hurried and followed Santa into the clubhouse, never more than a few feet behind. At one point, Santa stopped and John took the opportunity to hug his knees, almost knocking him over! Santa picked John up and gave him a big hug (darn it, just at that moment my camera card was full!!!). Then, he got chosen to be the FIRST child to sit on Santa's lap. I asked John what he asked Santa to bring him for Christmas, and he answered "pissmass presents mamma!"

Santa arriving on the boat

Putting out our 'reindeer food' (oatmeal with glitter in it- the glitter reflects in the moonlight/Rudolph's nose and attracts it, from the library story time in the Keys- cool idea huh?!)

Milestones...

2009-12-18T12:34:00.000-08:00

I read a few BLOGS, and usually people mark milestones- for example "100th Post!" etc. Well, I missed my 100th post, by a lot it would seem! By my count I'm at 195. Since I'll probably forget to mark the 200th post, I'll mark this!

Happy 195th Post Captain John!

For this happy occasion I'll do a little catch up of photos from the past few weeks.

Idol

2009-12-18T07:28:00.000-08:00

John IDOLIZES his 'Bubby Owen'. This morning we looked at Owen's Blog and John was inspired...
Do you see a family resemblance?

A Glimpse....

2009-12-09T07:38:00.000-08:00

A little conversation John and I had the other day. Pulling into Bahia Honda in the Florida Keys, on the bow just after putting the anchor down....

John: Oh Look! A beach!
Abby: Yeah, do you like beaches John?
John (dreamily): Yeah... Girls in "tini's" live there..... ('tini' means BIKINI!)

Oh boy. John is 2 going on 15, this is just a little glimpse into our future I think!

Kapok Tree

2009-12-03T08:37:00.000-08:00

One of our favorite books lately is The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry. A wonderful book about nature and conservation that I highly recommend!

Well, we were walking around Key West and found a real Kapok Tree! John had so much fun climbing all over it and exploring, and what a great way to make the book more real!

In my spare time...

2009-11-06T18:42:00.000-08:00

I crochet! We have had a few loooooong car trips lately, so I've been working on something besides blankets- aren't we cute?!

Who knew it would be cold enough in Alabama in November to wear them!

Sick

2009-10-30T20:27:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I have both been a bit under the weather these last few days. So far John seems fine, but time well tell. I'm pretty sure its just a bad cold, but its miserable while it lasts! Here are a few photos to tide you over...

Cousins

2009-10-18T12:56:00.001-07:00

Twirley

2009-10-07T12:06:00.000-07:00

John has a new habit

ahem

OBSESSION.

Hair twirling.
Its constant.
If you pull one hand away the other is immediately on top of his head to keep twirling.
Sometimes he says 'tirl mama's hair'.
Its adorable, really.
So adorable that I had to cut a knot off the top of his head the other day.
I mean, its adorable.
Right?

A visit...

2009-10-06T12:10:00.000-07:00

TQ and PopPop got 'permission' a few weekends ago to bring Owen up to the 'real house' with them. So Friday night they drove to Rockford and stayed over night with Jed, Mandy, Owen and Julian. Saturday morning they got up early and made it here at (well, right in the middle of) nap time.
John and Owen had a fabulous weekend together, and truth be told, when Owen was told on Sunday evening that he'd have to go home the next morning he said (and I quote) "No! But I don't wanna go back there! I want to stay at the real house!!!" There were some people (ahem, his parents?) who thought he'd have a hard time being away from home for 2 nights. I get that totally, John has never spent a night away from me and he's past 2, I'm not sure if I would do as well as Mandy and Jed did!!!But Owen was the star, not only did he sleep well and night but he took gasp a NAP!!

We went to Pond Hill Farm and the boys got to play in the tractor!

They painted pumpkins

They played at the beach...

With these two special people watching nearby!

They read books with PopPop

And, they watched "Bee Movie"- which has become the house favorite since then, with both John and Owen imitating parts of the movie!

It was a busy, but amazingly fun weekend with 'Bubby Owen' !!

~Peace

Imp

2009-10-05T10:47:00.000-07:00

imp.

-noun
1. a little devil or demon; an evil spirit.
2. a mischievous child.

I don't think John is devil spawned, but mischievous child fits him perfectly :)

Tractor Fun!

2009-10-04T07:40:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we took John to the Second Annual Mackinac Bridge Tractor Crossing... What a fun day!

Yes, this is a PINK tractor- called the 'pinky' made by John Deere (I think)

A Fathers Love

2009-10-02T12:20:00.000-07:00

Some wood and a few tools...

A boy and his Dad.

Let's try this again...

2009-09-30T18:05:00.000-07:00

So the morning after we got back online we left for a week 'downstate'... more on that to come. But first let me catch you up on a bunch of pictures (especially since the one I left you with was so bad- John looks high!) Here is a more accurate representation of our weeks away...

We're Back!

2009-09-23T18:57:00.000-07:00

After 3 weeks without Internet up here in the woods, we are back! Its been a surprisingly blissful few weeks. John has loved not having the computer to compete with in the evenings (a good wake up call for us, we didn't even realize he was competing!) We were so lucky that the 3 weeks happened to coincide with 'summer' here in Northern Michigan, it got here late but finally got here! The past weeks have been wonderful. Filled with days sailing and spent at the park. These weeks have been important for us as a family as well. Learning (remembering) to stop to smell the flowers. Watching a bald eagle cross the sky at our beach. Realizing just how much pure JOY John has brought to us.

Bell

2009-08-27T18:17:00.000-07:00

This is where I grew up.

In the backyard, just out the back door next to the deck, there was a bell. An old, cast iron school bell to be exact. My parents bought it at The Grosse Pointe Greatest Garage Sale, which sadly doesn't exist anymore. For my entire youth the bell was there. I have memories of my Mom calling my brothers and I in for dinner by ringing that bell. When the new house was built up here and the old house was sold Mom and Dad tried to bring everything that was 'memorable' to us.

Like the old stone horse...

Well, the bell was forgotten. There have been many times over the past 5 years when I've heard my mom say 'I wish I'd brought the bell!' especially now that their grandchild tally has grown to 5, and someday they'll all be big enough to go exploring in the woods or down to the beach. It would be nice to have a big, loud, clear bell to call them all home.

SOO... This summer I finally got my courage together. I called my friend Peter who is doing some work for the new owners of the old house. I asked him first IF the bell was still there. IT WAS! So I called the new owner, Laura. She was incredibly nice and one day I took John with me over to my old house. I went on a short tour of the house I grew up in, some things are the same and some are completely different. I choked up a little when I watched John run through the rooms just the way we did growing up. But the memories are ours, we took them when we sold the house. I had to keep moving forward, and I'm glad I went.

Long story short. Peter met me there and we were able to saw through the 4X4 piece of wood the bell was bolted to. I managed to get it back to my parents' little house and hidden in the trailer before mom noticed. I had planned on waiting until it was mounted to show my surprise, but I couldn't hold it in! The morning after getting back to the 'real house' we carried it into the kitchen, mom was so happy, I think there were even some real tears..

This past week we got a new post dug into the ground and cemented in. The bell stands proudly just outside the back door, where it belongs.

John is also having a blast ringing what he calls 'mine bell'
Thank you Jeff, Peter and Laura for your help in pulling off the surprise!

Photo Shoot

2009-08-20T11:44:00.000-07:00

While we were 'downstate' John's cousins (at least thats what he'll tell you). John had a blast with Ari and Parker, in fact he is still talking about it! I wish it would have worked out to see them more, but I promise we'll be back!!
The best part for me was that Kristen is an AMAZING photographer! I had hoped Jeff would be there too so we'd get some family shots, but pics of my boy will have to do for now. It was about 90 degrees out, and I dressed John in jeans and a long sleeved shirt, poor boy. He was a trooper though- I'm not even sure if he knew photos were being taken! Here are just a few...

2009-08-18T11:59:00.000-07:00

We left John with my parents the other day while we went sailing down in Harbor Springs. When we got home, mom showed me the photos of John's afternoon...

Lunch in bed, with PopPop (napping) while watching Thomas... Oh boy, don't get too used to it Johnny!