From the Archive

Papa tries

Although my job is hard and quite honestly really really hard, Dennis tries but it is hard when no matter how tired, over worked, and exhausted he is, I am always more so. The plight of the Mama. Dennis washed lots of dishes and did loads of laundry and watched the kids a lot this weekend and so I thank him. He didn't wake up 7 times last night, he only got up once and so although he is really tired, it just doesn't evoke my empathy. He thinks I couldn't possibly have gotten up so many times and so I must be exagerating. I just keep reminding myself that the kids won't always be sick, someday I will miss waking up to nurse during the night and by the time I am celebrating my 50th birthday in 18 years that I might not even have kids at home at all and I might not know what to do with all that free time. HA! The house cleaner is here which is the absolute gift of a lifetime that we have given ourselves this year and I am listening to the new Lucinda Williams CD and Asher is asleep and Emmit is at school and I am going to go read a book while the quiet lasts.

I must remember

I am tired, I physically got up 7 times last night in 8 hours to take care of sick kids, I have cramps, oh and I am sick too. Photos like these remind me why I don't just check myself into a hotel by myself and shut out the world. It does sound appealing though.

Emmit and Zora reunite

While in Tucson we got to see one of Emmit's baby friends from Prescott who now lives in Tucson. They generously gave us lots of amazing organic and beautiful hand-me-downs that both boys mysteriously fit (Asher and Emmit can seriously share clothes now!) We visited the zoo twice and spent a day at the Sonoran Desert Museum.

growth spurts

It is 4pm and both boys are in bed. I don't know what we will do when they learn to tell time and start protesting to our shenanigans. The boys and I have been under the weather with colds and at the doctor (my kids get coughs that sound so horrible that it is all I can do) Asher weighed in at 20lbs. 6 oz. and Emmit tipped the scale at over 31lbs (with clothes on). This means that Emmit has gained 10 lbs in the last year and almost entirely since his tonsils came out in Oct.!!!! Asher now has one tooth and I can see the second one and feel it. He has also learned how to crawl and everyday it starts to look more like crawling and less like a caterpillar doing the downward dog in a forward moving fashion. We all returned from Tucson so ready for spring and it just hasn't quite arrived here despite our desperate need to be outside. Dennis must have spent twenty minutes getting Emmit dressed to go outside and "ride his bike" (he really wanted Dennis to get his bike out so they could ride together). Needless to say, less then 3 minutes later they were back inside due to the cold, snow, cold, snow, etc.... We also caved in to Asher's pleas and got him a Johnny Jump Up which we can afix in the doorway just so his toes touch barely (I have mixed feelings about these contraptions and don't think he should be putting weight on his legs/spine until he can do so independently) and he bounces with wild abandon and happiness. Emmit's love of books continues and he has a huge basket of books pulled up next to his bed and sitting on a little wooden chair. He now falls asleep for nap or bedtime by lying in bed reading to himself. We are rather proud to say the least. Asher loves books too although he considers them more of a delicacy to devour and gnaw on. Purim is next weekend so I am excited to have a kid now old enough to appreciate this very fun holiday. Emmit says he is going to dress up like the character "Super Bear" in his favorite Jesse Bear book. I figure the cape and crown can also be a king since Emmit doesn't have any desire to dress in a bear just the cape and crown. I already made him a cape so it will be a crown making week. I have diagnosed myself as having Seasonal Snow Disorder. Unless I can be snowboarding or skiing it just seems completely dissapointing. Dennis tries to pretend he doesn't have it but I think it is a genetic mutation that has invaded our entire family.

Cell phone snaps from December!

Jesica and the boys in Central Park, NYC and once again on Orcas Island. Cell phone photography, you got looove technology! ( you think?)

Tucson

Emmits' Layers

We recently gave Emmit a Holga (which is a plastic camera that takes 120 film) to take pictures with. The camera is extremely low tech and requires that the operator advance the camera. Emmit of course being little, cannot advance it. Hence the photograph you see is multiple exposures from the day and a life of Emmit. There is perhaps 5-7 different exposures on one negative. Pay close attention to the picture in the foreground of Emmit. He often takes the pictures of himself with the camera pointed towards him. I may have taken a couple also. The camera is a lot of fun, but is really not a "toy," and still requires a certain level of "skill". We recently took the Holga to Tucson, but the film got fogged from the airport x-rays in which the film had passed through more then 5x (it was old film that travelled through Costa Rica over two years ago-oops!) I am bringing a new Holga home today and we will take it for a spin! It is a lot of fun and makes photography with the kids enjoyable.

Home now from Tucson

Ah vacations are both amazing and yet challenging. They are never very romantic or full of rest and relaxation for Dennis or I due to kids being out of their elements but we all loved being in the sun and seeing good friends. We have some great photos to post so I promise they are coming soon. We haven't even begun to unpack, both kids are sick and we didn't get to bed until about 2 a.m. so I am avoiding it all and typing this instead. My favorite photo shoot to share is Emmit taking his clothes off and running around the yard of our vacation rental soaking up the sun. Another favorite is a great day spent at the Tucson Zoo accompanied by our very own Emmit "Pippi Longstocking". He is discovering his own sense of style which, for those who knew me at his age will recognize. Jesica

Happy 7 months old Asher

Dear Asher,
We love you so much. We love you when you giggle and when you get so excited when you hear the bath water running. We love your kisses and we love how happy you get when you see us. We love that you have made our family more complete and we love watching you grow and learn new things every day. We love calling you our giant baby and we love it when you splash us in the bath. We love your cuddles and you silly sounds. We love you every minute of every day and each in our own special way. We are so happy you picked us to be your family. Love, Emmit, Papa and Mama

7

Winter Storm arriving tomorrow

People often wonder how I am able to craft with the boys around. Here is Emmit sewing behind my sewing chair. You can also catch a little glimpse of the quilt I am making for Dennis with a plant/tree theme.

Emmit sat and sewed completely on his own except when he needed more thread for close to an hour. It was amazing to watch him working so independently and then so proud of his sewed felt creations. He never even poked himself.

Emmit loves it when I sew things that are useful around the house like table cloths, placemats, napkins and bags of anykind. He created this place setting all on his own and sat there happily cutting his lettuce and then dipping it in salad dressing. I love that he can entertain himself on his own more and more and we can work side by side on our own things.

Asher is getting more solid at sitting and loves to get up on all fours and rock. He has no problem getting himself anywhere he wants to go even if it isn't quite yet looking anything like crawling. He is very ticklish, loves to head butt us like a little goat and be in the center of whatever activity is going on.

Here is Asher and his dear sweet friend Frances. She is his first baby friend and so they share a special bond. We have started having a baby playgroup every other Wed. morning so Asher now has quite a flock of little friends and he has a very social personality that really comes out when he is surrounded by folks his own age. Dennis seems to think I am writing a small novel and says it is time to crawl in bed and watch a movie since it is 7:30 pm and practically our bedtime.

you can now leave comments again

okay I changed the settings so you can now post comments on our blog. We were having a problem with spam getting posted but I have set the filter such that I have to approve all comments before they will post to the blog so comment to your hearts content!

My morning alone with Asher

I love Monday and Wednesday mornings when Emmit goes to the JCC from 7:30-12:30 and Asher and I have some special, quiet and nap filled mornings. Despite the cold we had amazing sunshine streaming through our bedroom window. Also a shot of Asher playing with his growing strand of wish beads. Thank you all who sent them. Oh and this is the shirt that if you look back at July photos that Emmit wore.

is it possible to love just a little too much?

We are daily blown away by Emmit's absolute adoration of his brother who he slips and refers to as, "my big brother". He writes him love notes, can't stop hugging and kissing him, refers to him as his best friend, dreams about him every night.... Although it isn't captured here, Asher equally adores Emmit and Emmit can always seem to make Asher happy and content especially by singing and dancing.

Feb. 2007- stuck at home due to extreme cold

Here are some little peeks into what we do when we don't leave the house much. We take lots of baths, Emmit is saving up to buy a plastic doctor kit but in the meantime he creates his own and oh how I wish I could convince him that the one he has made is far more realistic then something from a toy store. A glimpse at how I am able to cook and hold a child at the same time.....

don't hate me....

okay so this may appear insane and a bit like I am gloating but I JUST FILED OUR TAXES!!!! I have to admit that I love love love doing it. I am also always a little sad when it is over and I have to wait a whole year to do it again. Don't tell me that I should go into tax accounting because I would only enjoy doing it if it involved getting money back for myself or someone I liked. Way to stressful to do it for random strangers and I actually wouldn't dare do anyone but my own taxes in case I made a mistake. At this point in my stay at home with the kids life, it is also my big pay check for the year. Anyway just had to have my own moment to brag. Ahhhh both boys are down for their naps, the house got cleaned today (we love you Bob!!!!) and it is absolutely quiet here although it is still way way way to cold to even think about leaving the house. Oh and I took some photos this morning (swear they will get posted tonight) of Asher wearing the same exact shirt that Emmit is seen wearing in July while we were in Tennessee. A great example of how big this kid is. He is still waking me up 3 times a night but I am surviving. He is Ferberized until about 1am and then it no longer seems to work. He is so easy otherwise that I feel like this is just his one element of great need and that I need to just oblige him for the time being. Also rather hard to let him cry at all when their are neighbors directly under us.

moments

"Uh oh the weasel" Emmit's version of "Uh oh"

This morning Emmit wanted to stay in bed and read to himself instead of getting jumping out of bed as soon as he hears us up. The fact that it is 2 degrees and 21 below with the wind chill might have contributed to his reluctance to leave his warm cozy covers. Asher's new favorite activity (thanks to his cousin Leo's influence) is to bounce whether on your knee, stomach, legs, head or in his bouncy seat. He is starting to get up on all fours and do some rocking which we know is going to transition to crawling. He is already getting into everything by rolling himself where he wants to go. We cheered on the Colts last night in honor of our 9 months living in Bloomington and our beloved family members there. I am currently working on a green tree themed quilt for Dennis and trying to not go stir crazy staying inside for many days in a row. I took some great photos of the kids over the weekend which we will post later.

Emmit hangs out with Brad and Angelina

Emmit got to play with Maddox and Zahara today at our friends Carl and Dorothea's house. Just another oridinary day in our lives!