31 January 2010

We're tempted to set the crib up again. Gibson has the hardest time staying in bed and taking a nap. On Tuesday he colored on his bedroom walls when he should have been asleep (he was rather proud of his artwork, too.) Currently, we are lying down with him when it's time for a nap which helps him stay in bed-- as long as he falls asleep before Mom or Dad does.

We thought Abe was outside playing earlier this week. He was really cleaning out the herb garden. All kinds of green things are popping up in the yard.

 

On Saturday we went to a family concert put on by the symphony. The symphony hosted a musical "petting zoo" before the show and let the kids try out different instruments. Abe tried blowing through the double reed from an oboe to make it squawk.

 

Helen liked playing a violin.    ~    Also, a hip, hip hooray for Sophie who auditioned for her school play, Alice in Wonderland, and was chosen to play Tweedle Dum. Her good friend got the part of Tweedle Dee. The show will be in April.

 

Brandan has made a good recovery from his surgery, certainly helped by the excellent care he received at home. By the end of the week he was up and about, working on projects again. He even made a house call to see an elderly patient. We're glad Brandan's recovery was so smooth, but we'll miss having him home every day as he heads back to work tomorrow.

24 January 2010

Brandan finally had his hernia repaired in a drive-by surgery Friday morning. He was home before 11 am. Who wants to be in a hospital, anyways? Home has a better nurse to patient ratio, unlimited smoothies and sheets with a higher threadcount. The center of gravity of our house has shifted to the front where Brandan is recovering on the foldout couch. This is now the prime spot for stories, movies and board games. The photo was taken Friday. As of today (Sunday), Brandan is moving around and sitting up better. We're looking forward to a week with Brandan at home.

Brandan is finishing installing some speakers on our patio out back.

 

For MLK day we sewed quilts for our local NICU.  Sophie and Rylee loved ironing the squares and fought over who got to iron.

Here's Abe posing with the finished quilt. (Helen hopped into the photo with her drawing of "5 little monkeys swinging from a tree. . .") 

Sophie is playing church volleyball this winter, which she pretty much hates. She hates it a little less after Saturday when she served the winning ace for one game. Her team looks pretty cute in their matching T-shirts and socks.

 

17 January 2010

Helen solved the green side of a Rubik's cube by herself. You can tell she's excited about it from her big smile.

Thursday is a minor holiday around here-- Garbage Day! Gibson and Helen run between the front and back of the house as they watch the garbage trucks circle the neighborhood collecting trash. This Thursday was the 3 truck bonanza, the regular garbage truck, the recycling truck and the bonus glass recycling truck. 

Brandan is making good progress on the beds. He's finished all the structural elements and is working on the trim. The kids love to help. In the photo, Abe is clamping the trim around a window so Brandan can nail it in place.

 

Friday night we realized that Gibson was sleeping in his crib for the last time. So many times we note the firsts (first night in the crib, first time sleeping through the night), but the last milestones can slip by without notice. Gibson didn't even notice the flash go off as we took his photo. Brandan built this crib 12 years ago when Sophie was born and all our kids have used it. It's held up remarkably well. 

While we were taking Gibson's photo, we noticed Sophie reading in bed. Sophie is such a night owl. Becky can't remember the last time Sophie was asleep before her. 

It's almost not fair to post this photo. We know some of you have suffered cold snaps and inversions and all sorts of winter nastiness. However, we're having an unusually mild January. Here's Abe riding his bike in T-shirt and shorts on Saturday. We're really enjoying the weather. 

10 January 2010

Happy Birthday to Brandan! We celebrated his birthday on Monday. Instead of a cake, he picked a dessert the whole family could eat -- some salt-roasted pears. It's hard to exaggerate the transcendence of a ripe pear, roasted in a salt crust and served with caramel. Grab your scientific calculator to discover Brandan's age: On January 4, 2010 at 3:15 while lying on the beach, Brandan is flying a kite with a 49.6055 foot string. With a 6 mph wind, the string is making a 50 degree angle with the ground. How high is the kite?

 

Here Helen and Gibson try out Brandan's new running gear. Brandan has started running with Becky a couple of mornings a week, partly for the exercise but mainly for the conversation. Becky is pretty useless after 9 pm, after getting up ridiculously early in the morning to run. Brandan is easy to spot in the dark in his bright new jacket.

It's pretty typical for Becky to spend the time when Helen is at school running errands with Gibson in tow. Gibson HATES running errands, so for a gift to him, Becky has decided to spend Tuesday mornings at home. Here he is this past Tuesday making a goofy face for Mom, home with his blocks and trucks, just the way he likes it.

We're using the momentum from putting Christmas decorations away to start on Spring cleaning. When Spring actually gets here, we'll want to be outside, not stuck inside cleaning. Becky pulled all the craft supplies down while cleaning out a cabinet. Abe and Helen liked playing with the smorgasbord of containers.

 

Here's Abe next to the tower he built with glue and paint bottles.

3 January 2010

Happy Birthday to Miss Helen who turned 5 on Tuesday! She got to have her first friend party. Becky assumed she'd want a princess themed party and was mentally planning some tea party-ish thing. Helen spends most of her time at home wearing a crown and a poofy skirt, but she refused to be type cast and asked for a pajama party instead. The only princess at the party was Sleeping Beauty asleep on Helen's cake.

12 active kids sat down to eat waffles, sausage, hot chocolate and waffles. The kids also decorated pillowcases, played flashlight and sleeping bag games and listened to a bedtime story.

We packed in the parties at the end of the year. Two nights later, we burned our 2009 calendar to make room for 2010. The kids roasted marshmallows over the fire. New Year's Eve was a rainy day and it took a while for the calendar to catch fire in the drizzle.

Brandan and Becky went to a terrific murder mystery/dinner party hosted by friends. We enjoyed the clever costumes and acting so much. We were back home again before midnight to ring in the New Year with Sophie, playing Phase 10 and watching the ball drop. 

 

Brandan is hard at work on the bunk beds. Here's an updated photo. Right now he's working on the stairs to the top bunk.    ~    Becky's mom spent most of the week in the hospital with a sudden, skull-splitting headache. An alphabet soup of tests has ruled out stroke, tumors, heart attack, meningitis or other bacterial infections. She's home now and being treated for temporal arteritis while her doctor waits for biopsy results that will confirm her diagnosis. It's been an anxious week waiting for answers. We've been inspired by her courage and optimism in daunting circumstances. We love you, Mom, and send you all our love and prayers.