Our Life in Transition

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Thanksgiving Day

On Thanksgiving day, we saw Craig, Lois, HC, and LJ one last time before the left for Dallas. The children had fun running around playing one last time. Here they are being silly. Craig and Lois had Thanksgiving dinner up in Maine and so they left before we ate. They have been missed.

Here is the spread for dinner. We had our friend Bev over for dinner. (Grace and Caleb actually call her "our friend Bev". It is part title, part name.) Mary made a wonderful meal.

Here are some pictures of the children at dinner. We had Andrew, Katherine, Alyssa, Joseph, and Timothy over for dinner as well. Alyssa and Joseph are in this picture with Grace and Caleb.

Here is Joshua eating Thanksgiving dinner.

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Musings and Stories

About three and a half weeks ago, Mary was working on the computer. Caleb was playing with his toys and Joshua was exploring. All of the sudden, Mary hears Joshua laughing. Mary immediately thought of the stairs.

She ran there, but he wasn't playing on the stairs. She circled through the family and living rooms and he could not be found. Was he in the bathroom? No banging on the toilet. Now panic is beginning to set in. Is he under the futon? Then his laugh comes again. Where is he?

Mary runs up the stairs and Joshua is laughing in Grace and Caleb's room pulling down books. I guess Joshua can climb all the way up the stairs.

Grace and Caleb love to run errands. One of the stores they like to go to is Costco. Why do they like to go? Is it the toys? the food court? No, it is the boxes. Mary lets them pick out a box to bring home. Grace has one with handles where she stores art projects. Caleb has one he calls "Zoom, Zoom" and carries around cars in it.

Is it weird when your child has named his cardboard box?

Grace and I were talking in the kitchen a while back. Out of nowhere, Grace looked at me and said, "Dad, I need a laptop."

Flabbergasted, I asked, "Why?"

"I don't know. I just think I need my own computer."

I didn't know what to say, so I said the only thing that came to my mind. "Maybe you should talk to Grandpa Dale about that one."

Tuesday Mary watched The Biggest Loser while I made fudge.

It was a delicious irony.

And speaking of irony, have you heard Britney Spears' new song? If you haven't, you need to read the lyrics to "Piece of Me". It is either one of the most brutally honest self-appraisals or incredibly ironic. I can't decide which, but I cannot believe that song was ever recorded. Amazing.

Caleb got a small frog from a recent trip to Chuck E. Cheese. Grace and Caleb have built "Froggie" a little house complete with computer, tv, and bed. When Caleb first got the frog, he called it his "harmless frog".

Why harmless? And why would a 4-year decide it was important to point that out about a plastic frog?

You were waiting for some bumper stickers, weren't you? Here are some of the recent sightings:

Pre lives
Don't be fooled by my car, my treasure is in heaven
Stop Continential Drift
Warning: Dates in the calendar are closer than they appear

Not quite sure how to stop the continents from moving, but everyone needs a cause, right?

If you haven't purchased Noel by Josh Groban, go buy it and give it as an early Christmas gift. It is worth it.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Happy Halloween!

Here are the Halloween pictures. Caleb and Grace decided to dress up as Power Rangers this year. They had a fun time at the Halloween parties and trick-or-treating.

Joshua got the candy corn outfit this year. Since he was candy, he decided to play with the candy. I took this picture right before he dumped out the Halloween candy instead of taking the Halloween candy away from him.

Here are the jack-o'-lanterns that we carved this year. They are both Joshua jack-o'-lanterns because they are both two-toothed wonders! (Joshua now has more teeth, though.) I thought they came out pretty well this year.

Here are the children acting like Power Rangers:

A Vanishing Breed

I like bumper stickers. They can be amusing or thought-provoking. (Okay, I have a simple mind and am easily entertained.) Many in Massachussetts are political in nature. (A sticker from two days ago: "If you are not outraged, you are not paying attention.")

A week ago, I pulled up behind a car with two bumper stickers. I was ready to be greeted by a new play on words, political message or complaint. Imagine my surprise when I read:

God bless everyone no exceptions, and
I'd rather be here now

I didn't know what to say. There are people like that in Massachussets? According to the other car in this post, they might not be paying attention.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

A Sad State of Affairs

Grace came home from school talking about graphs yesterday. For math, they will be learning about graphs soon. Grace told her teacher that her grandmother taught her how to graph. Her teacher asked her if she could bring in her graph. We printed out the pictures from the blog and sent her to school so she could show her teacher her first graph.

I was thinking tonight how incredible it is that we have pictures of Grace's first graph. What parent in their right mind would have pictures of a child's first graph? You have to feel sorry for our poor children. They are being raised by truly weird parents. (Though, I don't think you can put any of this on Mary.)

Moving On

I played basketball with Craig last night. That really is not noteworthy. Craig and I have been playing basketball together on and off since the summer of 1999. There have been stretches where we would play every week for months. There have been stretches where we did not play for a few months. But we have managed to play often. There have been a lot of good times, beautiful assists (usually from Craig), ugly shots (usually from me), way too many injuries (usually Craig) and a little bit of trash-talking. Last night marked the end of an era. Craig, Lois, HC, and LJ are moving next week and I don't know when we will play again.

It is never fun to see good friends move but it has been a theme for us this year. Dan and Rebecca left for North Carolina in June. I have known Dan since I was 10. He came over immediately after we found out about Robert's prenatal trouble. Rebecca photographed Robert and our family and has done so much for us. They brought us meals, took care of Grace when Caleb was born, and were always there. Now they are helping people many miles from here.

Curtis, Kelly, Caitlyn, Jackson, Hannah, Logan, and Henry moved in June. I called them the morning Robert was born. I dropped Caleb and Grace off at their home before 6:00 am on the way to the hospital to be with Mary. They took care of all of us. Kelly (and Rebecca) were our only friends to meet little Robert. They visited Mary in the hospital countless times. Curtis and Kelly invited us over for Sunday dinner too many times to count. Now they are in California.

And next week it will be time to say goodbye to Craig, Lois, HC and LJ. Caleb and HC were born at neighboring hospitals a day apart. I visited Lois and HC with Grace after HC was born. Craig visited Mary and Caleb. We have watched too many college football games with them, eaten at each other's homes many times, gone camping together and watched our children play together. They will be missed.

Though it is hard to see so many good friends move this year, we are so grateful that we know them and have been able to associate with them. They have helped us through the most difficult times. At Robert's graveside service there were a number of family members there to support us and a few friends. The invited friends were Dan and Rebecca, Curtis and Kelly, and Craig and Lois and their families. That was it. All of them will have moved within the last five months. It is tough to see them go, but I am glad that they were here last year. If they have to leave now, I will be ever grateful they were here then.

Thanks for all the help and continued friendship. Know you are missed.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Life in Our House

Our house currently has four bipeds and one quadruped. Joshua has learned how to crawl on all fours and is becoming faster each day. He loves to pull up on anything he can reach. He has not achieved the homo erectus stage of life, but it is coming soon.

Joshua is no longer a two-toothed wonder. He has five teeth that have broken through and one more nearly there. He is our fastest teether by far.

The lesson topic was Thanksgiving for tonight's family night. Mary read a book with some great details about the pilgrims. Unfortunately, even Grace had a hard time following it. The book ends by referencing Plymouth Rock with this sentence: "It is the rock on which our nation began."

To which, Caleb loudly exclaims, "Red Sox Nation!"

A child armed with the important geopolitical information.

I have a new guilty pleasure. On Monday nights, I like to watch The Big Bang Theory. It is filled with real nerdy characters. I don't know who is getting all the jokes unless the geeks are watching. The jokes are nerdy and I laugh at most of them. I won't say it is the highest quality entertainment, but if you want to watch a funny show about nerds, then this is the show for you. (Although if you want a show with nerdy characters now is a good time for you. Between Numb3rs, Chuck, and The Big Bang Theory, you have options.)

Sunday, November 11, 2007

A Sunday Observation

One of today's lessons was on women in the church. We discussed the different roles for women and men. I was thinking about the language we use to describe our roles. In particular, I was thinking about the differences between the usage of the term "to father" and "to mother". The former implies imparting a genetic inheritance whereas the latter conveys hope for nuture and watchful care.

Does this illustrate the differences in our expectations for parents?

I hope not.

It Can Be Just Perfect

Yesterday we got Chinese for lunch to celebrate Mary running a 5K. (Yes, she has been running a bit this year. It is her favorite form of exercise. That will change with the coming cold weather, but she has enjoyed it. Mary on running, "I'm a mom, not a runner.") The food came with the obligatory fortune cookies. The children picked theirs first. Caleb's fortune was: "Work on your diplomatic skills and avoid conflict at all costs."

That is solid advice from a cookie.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Coincidences

I went down to see Matt and Honor on Thursday. Okay, that really is not true. I went to Pennsylvania for work. But I was able to see them and help Honor get back to blogging. It was a quick trip and I had a good time.

On the way there, I sat in seat 16C. I was working on my computer when the captain said it was time to turn off all electronic items. I decided to do the crossword puzzle in the airline magazine. I finished it and put the magazine back in the seat.

On the way home, I looked for a seat on the aisle closest to the front. There was one seat about ten rows up, so I switched seats. I got on the plane and flipped through the magazine. The crossword puzzle had been completed. By me. I looked up and realized I was in seat 16C.

I took the exact same plane and rode in the exact same seat to Pennsylvania and back again.

Monday, November 05, 2007

Caleb's Contractions

I love how children play with words. They move them around and combine them in ways adults don't. For example, we were talking with Caleb's nursery leader from last year and she told us of a lesson when they discussed the sacrament. She asked the children if they knew the proper name for eating the bread and drinking the water. Caleb raised his hand and said, "the snackrament".

This week in church, Caleb was sitting next to me while I was holding Joshua. Joshua is at the stage where he lunges at people or things he wants. Joshua lunged at Caleb and Caleb said, "Dad, Joshua attackled me."

Look! Up in the Sky...

... it's a bird ... it's a plane ... No! It's Supermom!

This weekend in the remnants of Noel, we drove up to New Hampshire. Why did we head north? Mary signed up to run a 10K trail race. You know my feelings about running, but Mary loves to exercise. And running is the thing now.

Mary had a bit of a difficult time training due to the colder weather, teaching pre-school, the Primary program and the Halloween party. But she still went out there, had a great time and ran her first trail race. She finished it and we were very proud of her (and a little bit cold).

Oliver may try, but even he couldn't keep Mary down.

Volunteering

Mary was heavily involved in the Halloween party planning this year. Our family spent six hours there setting up for the party. Grace and Caleb set up most of the chairs for about 130 people to have dinner.

We helped clean up after the party. I was shuttling boxes out to the car and Caleb was helping mop the gym floor. As I walked out the gym, I heard the man he was helping say, "Don't be afraid to get the floor wet. Remember, water is the universal solvent..."

Regardless of Caleb's understanding of this comment, I love the fact that volunteer experiences can be a good chance to meet an interesting cross section of people. Well that, and the fact that Caleb might correctly answer a question about solvents.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Holy Day?

God commanded us to keep the Sabbath day holy. There are a lot of benefits to keeping this commandment. It gives us a chance to regroup and spend time together. Our family normally plays games together, reads together and will periodically watch a movie together. There is one more thing that our children like to do on Sunday. They like to get sick.

I don't know how many times I have gone to CVS on Sunday to get medicine, ginger ale, or crackers. It seems like the first day of illness almost always comes on Sunday. So when Caleb had his fever two weeks ago, it came on Sunday. We were out of acetaminophen after a dose or two. I went to the cupboard to get the extra one we keep and it wasn't there.

So if you see me in CVS on Sunday, you might want to stay away from me. Not because I am going to be struck by lightning (though that may happen) but chances are someone in my house is sick.

Speaking of a fever, we watched a family movie on the Sunday Caleb was sick. After it was over, Caleb was watching TV and said, "Dad, can you see if the Red Sox are on?"

I told him game 7 of the ALCS was not on until later that night, but my children seem to have caught baseball fever somewhere.

And where would you catch baseball fever around here? At school, of course. Grace (and all the elementary kids) came home with "Go Red Sox" pennants. Isn't that a great lesson taught by our public schools? Besides the great spelling lesson, it is important that we teach our children about the American pastime. It's not like they can stay up to watch the games.

And coming full circle with sports and the Sabbath, I was talking to my brother the day of the ALCS game 7. I asked him if it was keeping the Sabbath day holy by watching the first NFL game, the Pats game, and then the Sox.

He said, "It depends on what you are trying to make holy."

Monday, October 22, 2007

Just Kidding — Joshua Edition

Joshua is doing everything you would expect him to be doing at 8 months. A partial list includes:

He cut his first tooth just before he hit 7 months. I think he is teething again because he has had a few nights where he has not been sleeping well.
He is eating solid foods more often than not. Some nights he refuses baby food. He likes to eat whatever we are having and he loves picking things up by himself.
He is learning to use a sippy cup. He doesn't always get it right, but he is getting better.
He loves to pull up on things. Sunday morning he was standing up in his crib for the first time. The first two places he pulled up were on the dishwasher and in the bathtub. Not the ideal places to start. I don't think he is near walking, but he is definitely mobile.
He likes to get into things. He loves to follow you around and see if there is a drawer he can open or something he can stick in his mouth. Mary and I are being more vigilant about what is left out, but it is difficult to teach that to Grace and Caleb.
He is fascinated by the phone. Sometimes when he listens on the phone he can even hear Mom's or Dad's voice. Can you imagine a machine that contains your parents' voices in it?
Joshua loves to crawl. He is starting to get faster. He is only army crawling so far, but he has a distinct crawl. He drags himself with his arms and then pushes off with his right toes. His crawl has a hitch, as if he were strutting. I find that funny.
Joshua still loves his blanket, but he has found another love. He loves rattles. His favorite rattle is in the shape of a star. The other night he was digging around in his toy basket for a minute or two. I wondered what he was doing. Then he crawled across the floor holding his rattle. I should have known. The rattle has a line across it from where he drags it across the floor.
The last day or two he has pushed himself up into an elephant walk position. He has not moved, but just stayed there for a moment. I love how little children try out new things.
He also has elephant Robeez. They are really cute.
Sunday afternoon he crawled on all fours for a step or two. It was the first time that I have ever seen him crawl on all fours.
The most important news is that Joshua had his first taste of doughnut this Saturday. He had a little bit of a pumpkin cake and a blueberry cake doughnut. Tonight he tried an apple cider doughnut. He is an official part of the family now.
Sometimes we call him chubby cheeks. Photographic evidence is below.

Learning to eat:

A place to play:

Joshua's first hike:

All dressed up for the wedding:

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Life

Today was the Primary program at church, which means the children (and their antics) are front and center. The first little boy spoke too loudly and got a bad case of the giggles. It was a good thing. The program does not officially start until that happens.

Unfortunately for Caleb, he was not feeling well at church. He had been practicing his part all week, but ended up with a fever and he did not feel like participating. Joshua was glad that Caleb came back to our pew. He had a great time playing on the floor without parental supervision or sibling interference.

Mary is beginning to feel some relief. Once we make it through this Friday's Halloween party, she will have made it through the looming activities. It is amazing how hectic one or two activities can make your life, especially when you are in charge of them.

Now that we have made it through today, we can get ready for the next week. Joshua, Caleb, and Mary are preparing by taking a nap. Grace is relaxing by swinging and I am blogging. The only thing to do now is hope the Sox play well tonight and start it all back up tomorrow.

Monday, October 15, 2007

Observations from Today (Updated)

We got started early this morning. I promised Caleb that I would do whatever he wanted to this morning. We left home at 7:15 AM. Where were we going? Jogging on a cool 50 degree morning. Either Caleb is related to Mary or I am getting really fat. He was dressed in his sweatsuit and we jogged for a good ten minutes. We took a 5 minute cool down walk and came home. Do most 4-year old children want to go for a jog when given the choice?

I have done a lot of running in my life. Currently I only run for two reasons:

If my children are in trouble or need help.
The only other possible reason to run is to play basketball, right? (Though most of the guys that I play ball with think it would be generous to characterize what I do as running. When asked to describe my gait, they say I have the athleticism of a ~~gazelle~~ penguin.)

On the way home from work, a dapper gentleman sat down near me. He sported black wing tips, cuffed black pants, a muted plaid sports coat nicely offset by a soft red paisley tie, a fedora, and a leather carryall. He had a good look.

Then my eyes wandered up to his neck. His tie was knotted by a four-in-hand knot. I shuddered. Could you imagine looking so good and of all the self-releasing knots for your tie, you choose the four-in-hand? I felt bad for that tie. Just the right tie to offset the look and it is tied in the wrong way. The horror.

Dinner tonight was spaghetti. Joshua ate spaghetti by himself for the first time:

For the video-impaired:

(You can just see his tooth in this picture.)

Our children are eating us out of house and home right now. After eating dinner, Caleb was looking for something more to eat. He walked over to the fridge to get a yogurt. He was not sure what flavor he wanted. He started pulling out yogurt and saying the flavor, "Blueberry, strawberry, is this peach Mom? ... green lemon."

Grace walks over at this point in time and takes the "green lemon" yogurt. "No, Caleb, this is green lemon cake yogurt."

I guess my children have not eaten much key lime pie in their lives.

Right now, Mary is getting ready for preschool. There is a box of supplies that travels around to all the houses as each Mom teaches. Mary put the supply box together. If I were you, I would not mess with her box of preschool supplies. Trust me on this one.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Just Kidding — Caleb Edition

Caleb has been a revelation with preschool this year. Last year, he liked it but we were never sure if he was learning much. Not the case this year. He is working hard on his letters and sounds. I am happy to see he wants to learn.
When we first bought Caleb white t-shirts, he did not like them. He wouldn't even put them on. Now he loves to wear them. Photos and video are below. If you need to get into the mood, you can always listen to Caleb's theme song.
Caleb is still a funny kid. Just the other day he asked me if I would take him to Funkytown after we got to Uncle Matt and Aunt Honor's house.
Getting together with the cousins has been really good for Caleb. He and Chase really started playing together last weekend when we were in Philadelphia. That was great to see. Also, Caleb really got along and played well with Quentin both times we saw his family this summer.
Caleb's behavior has been getting better. More than anything, I think he had a hard time processing Robert's death. It has taken him a lot longer than I thought it would. I was reminded of this when the little girl Grace's age died. It was really hard for Caleb. He does not deal well with death. I worry a little about that, but I am allowed to do that since I am his father.
One of the things I love about Caleb is that he will play with anyone. At joy school he plays with the boys and the girls. Nicole came over for a play date last week and they played really well together.
This summer was a good one for him. The idea of moving was more difficult for him than the actual move. Of our three children, he adjusted the most quickly.
Caleb is quite coordinated. It will be interesting to see what happens with this as he goes to school and begins to play sports. I have no predictions or insights but I am excited to find out what will happen next.

First, a video from our apple picking adventure.

The two first pictures are quintessential Caleb.

We may not be smiling just right, but this is how Joshua and Caleb look quite often. Too true to life to pass up.

Grace going to school has helped Caleb be better with Joshua. He still can be rough, but he likes playing with Joshua a lot more.

HC and Caleb on the hayride.

Before the wedding we took a short hike. Here are Mary and Kirty with Sadie, Caleb, Joshua, Nick, Hallee and Quentin.

At the end of the wedding ceremony this is where you could find Hallee, Quentin and Caleb.

This last picture is just for Quentin. Since he asked for more pictures of Caleb, here is one with both of them (and some Mentos). Enjoy!

Blogging During Church

My Crackberry addicted brother, Oliver, periodically blogs during church or church events. I have never had that desire. At least not until today. Two things happened today that I wish I could have blogged about real time. The first, I found humorous. The second was unusual for a Mormon crowd, but very moving.

During sacrament meeting I looked at the family sitting in the row in front of us. Their oldest son was trying to pick a small lock with a kit especially for that purpose. Now that is learning the important things at church.
Later, we went to the fireside for temple workers. The special musical number was "Ingemisco" from Verdi's Requiem. It was beautiful, but it is not everyday that you here a tenor's aria during a meeting with a General Authority presiding. (Elder Holland was presiding and the musical number was moving and heartfelt. Listen.)