Our friend

Let me tell you about our friend! She is a sweet 2 1/2 year old girl, who is gentle and kind. She is bright and always cheery! She shares Freddy the Frog and other toys with L., talks to L. and loves to hug and kiss him, too (..smack on the mouth mind you..) She met L. when he was still in my tummy. She used to poke him through my belly button. She officially met him when he was 20 hours old. They go way back...

Here is a few pictures of our visit yesterday:

Photo fan fare:

In response to "Do you like MSU?"

Okay, Maybe L. just doesn't like hats!!!

While sorting out summer and winter clothes, L. climbed into the box. He just had to get into the middle of it all!

"Let me tell you how much I love yogurt!"

Full Speed Ahead!

Over the past two weeks L. has changed even more. And now he's officially 11 months old! I now refer to him as a toddler because he toddles around. He is literally into everything! I love how he finds joy in throwing things over and over.. thanks Steve for encouraging that. He usually will throw a fit if he sees any small black electric thing, resembling a phone. We made the mistake of letting him play with it and now he LOVES the phone, we are in retraining mode!
He still eating everything nature in sight.. sticks, fuzz, bits and bugs... ick. He also is showing great interest in toys. When he is well rested, fed and dry he'll enjoy a few minutes of self-play on his own. He takes two naps a day and usually is a happy child. He has discovered his tongue a few days ago... so now he's constantly running it over his teeth and sticking it out. We measured his height yesterday and he's 26 3/4 inches tall. Still to short for a rollar coaster. Darn.
While I was chatting on the phone the other day L. enjoyed a few minutes in daddy's office.

The weekend

Sunday after church a friend and I jumped in the car, babies in tow, and ran to Asheville. The plan was to maximize my off-call day and visit family. Overall it was a great success! Here are a few memories:

And here are two videos of our time together. We had a wonderful visit!

Backlogging:

August 22nd:


August 23rd:

A Bone to Pick....

I have not used this blog to air my grievances in the past, but today I have a bone to pick!

In a nutshell I have been miserable all day due to an outbreak of hives. BUYER BEWARE!
I contacted the company via internet to let them know there is a problem.

Here is what I wrote:
"I am very disappointed in your All Free and Clear. Or should it be renamed 'neither free nor clear'. After using this product two-three times in the past week and a half, I have become overtaken with hives. This is the ONLY thing that has changed in our routine or of the products we consume. After a day of suspicion it was confirmed, i had taken medicine to relive myself but while nursing my son, who was dressed in freshly laundered pj's yet again my stomach, buttocks and ankles immediately began itching and swelling with weals. Please tell me what chemical is reported to have this side effect as I want to avoid it in all ways. I do not want to be hospitalized for anaphylaxis after washing clothes! In case you dismiss this is a rare case, I spoke to my health care provider today regarding my suspicions, and lo and behold her daughter is severely allergic to this product as well. I am irritated and itching. People are conned by lovely packaging in the hope that they are doing a good thing for their body and environment and this is an injustice. "

Maybe it is a wee bit dramatic but darn it all! I'm not happy!
Does anyone out there have itchies from a chemical? Air your grievance here!!!

Family Vacation!

For our first family vacation we traveled by plane and car. It was a super-duper great time with family. We love them. In chronological order we visited: S's uncle and aunt, S's parent's friends, S's parents, S's sister's family, S's Aunt, 14 of S's High School pals, S's Grandma B, My dad and his family, S's childhood friend and his family and S's parents again. I think it will be less time consuming to simply give you the count, so without further ado...

Here's the fun and extensive 2008 Family Vacation count:
1 long term parking spot
4 plane rides
1 new learned computer game
2 excited cousins
1 GIANT bon fire
0 mosquito bites
4 hours at Lake Michigan beach
1 new hair cut
100's of laughs
2 hours in Ikea Canton, MI
9 home-made loaves of Naan
3 thrift stores
1 visit to Cleveland Zoo
1 nap through the butterfly garden
4 Subway sandwiches
10 outdoor walks
8 Olympic medals to what's-his-name (we watched them all.)
51 pounds of midwifery books shipped home
3 rounds of corn hole
10 hands of Texas Hold em'
6 home-cooked meals
15 cloth diapers
2 o'clock AM when we arivved home.


And because we ended up with only a smattering of photos this is not all inclusive... sorry to those who didn't make the cut... we love you dearly! But apparently we didn't care enough to take your pictures. Actually I think our battererys went dead.