Heads Up

"Tummy time" has never been a favorite at our house, so we are always trying to find new ways to make it exciting. This series of pictures shows Miles seeming to enjoy being on his belly and even lifting his head up high.

He held his head up so long I was astounded - so I captured the moment with pictures. We laughed, he smiled, we played and played.

Eventually, the inevitable happened - and he just flopped his head down on the pillow exhausted by all that work! So precious!

Peruvian Hat

This recent reemergence of cold weather has been celebrated at our house. Only because it brought about the occasion to wear the beautiful Peruvian hat our friends from Santa Fe, the Murphey's, picked up for Miles on their travels abroad.

Miles seems to like it, and we will try to enjoy it as much as we can because I am sure it will not fit next winter. Thank goodness that winters drag long into spring, (and sometimes even summer) in Michigan because I think he looks precious in this colorful hat!

Growing before our eyes!

If I had to recall the one thing I hear most from people about parenting, whether it is from close friends, or unsolicited advice from people at the grocery store it is simply the phrase, "Enjoy it! They grow so fast." And I must admit, I heard this before Miles arrived in our lives, and I thought to myself - sure - but it can't happen that fast.

News flash: He is literally growing before our eyes!

This picture was taken on 12/26 when he was just seven days old. We adore this bouncy chair! It was an awesome gift and it has served as the backdrop for countless pictures, as I am sure you have noticed. It has also been an interesting gauge to measure his growth. When we first plopped him into his chair his eyes barely peeked above the material that held him in.

This picture was taken on 12/30 when he was eleven days old, just five days older than the previous picture, and already he had grown so much!

On 1/27 he was just six weeks old. Not like he was ever a tiny baby, but he was already looking so grown up!

2/27 - One month later he is 10 weeks old, and fitting rather cozily into his favorite chair. Now his elbows rest where his eyebrows used to be!

This picture was taken last Saturday (4/4). As week 16 began I was astounded at the contrast of this picture with the first one we took. Suddenly, the saying rang true - "Enjoy it! They grow so fast." I found myself is disbelief. I almost have a four month old, and truly everything is flying by so very fast!

I will continue the tradition of taking his picture in this chair (as long as he still fits in it) and be sure to share the pictures with you. Almost 1/3 of a year has passed. We are still hit or miss with the sleeping through the night. We have already put away a whole series of clothes that are too small now, and we have moved up to the next size of cloth diapers. I know he is not walking or talking yet, and it will still be awhile before he asks me for the car keys, but I am just trying to hold him close and cherish him now!

Walking Ritual

Last Monday (4/5) my friend Mere was in town from Seattle on the sad occasion that her Nana passed away. She was truly a wonderful woman and her presence will be missed. I will always remember her sparkling eyes, her beautiful smile, and the way that Mere could make her laugh! Although the occasion was sad it was so nice to spend the morning reminiscing with this friend I have known since middle school. In fact not only was Mere my college roommate at MSU, but she was also my campaign manager when I ran for Vice President in sixth grade! Now she has the new title of honorary aunt to Miles!

The morning greeted us with a cool fog and the sunlight was shining through in long rays onto Reeds Lake. This walk has been a ritual we have shared for countless years and it felt wonderful to just walk and talk the miles away. As the hours passed the sun came out and when we ended there were blue skies!

Miles slept though most of the trip in his stroller. Mere had not seen him since he was one day old and she was amazed at how he had grown! In fact this week he weighed 14 lbs. and 14 oz.

We passed beautiful gardens with the Lenten Rose (Helleboris orientalis) in full bloom! The day before I noticed that the same plants were blooming at Mere's moms front door. This hearty plant is known for it's early bloom and the delicate blossoms stand as flags of spring. Again, I am reminded that the seasons are changing as I look to the world outside. This change seems especially significant this year. Perhaps as a parent now I am vividly aware that the next generation has arrived and that it is especially important to cherish and appreciate all those that came before us.

By the end of the walk Miles wanted to be held. It felt good to walk with him in my arms. As the sun came out birds began to fly through the trees. We saw a Red Tailed Hawk, a Downy Woodpecker, and Goldfinches freshly painted yellow for the summer. There is something healing about the power of simply walking and talking with friends. This walk is something that Mere and I have shared for years, and it felt wonderful to do it with Miles. Today was a beautiful day to both reminisce about the past and look to the future as the seasons change around us.

First Easter

If the "Earth laughs in flowers" as Ralph Waldo Emerson says in the poem Hamatreya then I think my father was appropriately named Don "Laugh"ter because he loves to show his appreciation for his time here on earth by beautifying the landscape.

This Easter I was reminded of the renewal that the holiday commemorates as I looked all around the yard at the beautiful tulips that have replaced the crocus in full bloom. This life is such a gift we are given, and this sentiment is so evident to me in the spring as everything around us appears to be reborn after a long winter.

Inside my mother decorated the table with some very sentimental memorabilia. These ceramic bunnies, painted by my Grandmother in 1964 I believe, are part of every Easter memory I have ever had. Crazy to think that they will become part of the memories that Miles will create now too.
This year we celebrated on Good Friday with our (almost) in-laws the Van't Hofs. We are so excited for our families to "merge" this June when David and Sarah get married. We have been celebrating holidays together now for a long time though and it already feels like we have been together forever!
Miles hung out on the back porch with the guys and helped with the grilling. He was proudly wearing his "UT" shirt from Nona and Paw Paw and dressed appropriately for the Texas style dinner. (Doesn't everyone eat cheese grits and fajitas for Easter?)

The evening came to a close around the fire to celebrate the unusually warm weather. Unfortunately the winds did not agree and as the smoke was blowing into our eyes as we talked so we decided to retreat indoors.

Then on Sunday we spent a quiet day at home with "the Yia Yia's."
Yia Yia Linda cooked an amazing meal (despite having just had foot surgery) and we had dinner at Yia Yia Liz's place.

Miles got to experience his first "cracking of the eggs." Orthodox Easter eggs are dyed red to represent the blood of Christ. Before dinner each person selected an egg.

Then, with your neighbor, you hit each others egg trying to crack the shell. The hard shell symbolizes the sealed tomb of Christ, and the cracking the "breaking free" or the resurrection. The idea with the "game" however is to have the unblemished egg at the end.

Michael emerged victorious from years of experience with his tricky "clutch" egg hold! I am sure he will teach this technique to Miles in the future. I anticipate a father-son rivalry next year.

This Easter has been especially sacred as we hold close in our hearts the fact that Yia Yia Liz just recovered from a very serious bout with double pneumonia. We truly cherish each day that we are able to watch Miles and his great grandmother interact. I will never forget the moment she got home from the hospital and I brought Miles in to see her. Her eyes just lit up and then they both grinned from ear to ear! They love to sit on the couch together and just make each other laugh. When I am watching the two of them giggle, I cannot help but giggle myself. Often the three of us will just sit and laugh!

As she says, "Isn't is funny the things adults will do to make a baby smile." And I must agree, we have all done it - I find myself doing the craziest things to elicit one of those gummy grins from my favorite little man. So, this season we are especially grateful for all the little things that make this life wonderful. When we count our blessings we are sure to include tulips, and giggles, and the love of family!

Sap Moon and a Wild Turkey

The full moon in March (3/30) marked the fourth one that Miles has been in the world to see. As I watched it rise I was reminded of a book I read, thankfully before I was pregnant, and each chapter was named for the full moon that marked that month of the author's pregnancy. The book was Having Faith: An Ecologists Journey to Motherhood by Sandra Steingraber. She has been dubbed as "the next Rachel Carson" as she advocates for the end of environmental pollution as it's effects are bio-magnified and passed on to nursing babies.
This "chapter" for Miles would be called "Sap Moon" named for the customary tapping of the Sugar Maple trees during this time of the year. The 2010 sugarbush season was cut short however by our unusually warm weather! When the trees bud there is a chemical change that occurs and the sap takes on an unpleasant taste. The short sap run we had will probably make the cost of maple syrup higher this year, but we will find a way to buy enough for our waffles I'm sure!
Here you can see the warm blue skies and the trees in our backyard bursting into buds last Wednesday (3/31). After I tried to capture the beautiful feathery cirrus clouds in a photograph I went back upstairs to make lunch. When I walked by the porch I looked out over the parking lot next door. The silhouette I saw looked out of place, and it took a moment for me to realize what it was. There was a WILD TURKEY wandering around outside! Mind you I live smack dab in the middle of downtown, and there she was just prancing back and forth between the parked cars.

What a treat! Talk about urban wildlife... I was so disappointed that Miles was sleeping and did not see it. This same thing has happened the last two years, always around the same time. One day I was turning the corner near our compost pile and I almost ran into a turkey.

So, is it the same one I keep seeing, or is there some secret gang of turkeys that hangs around downtown? (Or rather a "rafter" of turkeys as I learned they are called on the DNR website.)

This one allowed me to watch and photograph from a distance, and then suddenly took off running. As quick as I could snap the shutter, she was above the neighbors rooftop and gone. (That brown dot in the middle is the backside of a flying turkey!)

Later that day when Miles woke up we went out in search of our wild friend. We sat sunning on the lawn and Miles wore his new baby shades. We did not see the turkey again but the fresh air and warm sunshine felt wonderful!

Plus Sign

One year ago today we woke up to an amazing surprise. As Michael was making some of his delicious red chili potatoes for breakfast I came to the unbelievable conclusion that I was in fact PREGNANT! I will never forget the moment I ran in to show him the test. I peeked my head around the corner and saw him gathering an armload of spuds. It was one of those moments in life when time slows down and things seem incredibly shiny and clear. In my head I thought, "This is it, from now on everything will be totally different" and I was swelling with joy and hope! When the time came I could think of nothing eloquent to say, all I could really mumble was "Um - look." To which he stood in awe and said something like "Whoa - no way - really?" I know, really descriptive on our parts huh? But, for once, this group was truly speechless.

We sort of stood around dazed all day muttering things like "Oh wow" and "unbelievable!" When two people have know each other as long as we have there is not much that can really shock us. However, this was different! We knew that the path ahead was completely unknown territory, and really we had no idea what to expect! All we knew was that suddenly our hopes for a family were realized, and that from now on there would always be someone else to consider.

As the day went on we would just stop what we were doing and stare at each other and giggle. Luckily what followed was what I called a "normal" healthy pregnancy with no complications. I will always be thankful for the loving support Michael gave me as my body changed (along with my moods :) He has been the most wonderful and caring father from the first moment!

Truly it is hard to believe that a year has passed. As the magic of springtime unfold around us again I am still amazed that the little blue plus sign has turned into this!

We are so incredibly thankful for the blessing of Miles in our lives!