White Christmas

Benjamin with Grandad's hat. On the left is the tent they rigged up for Benjamin to sleep in until he's big enough for the Mayflower bed.  Maybe next time.  

 I wish we had gotten some pictures of our white Christmas in Texas, but by the time I got the camera out, Benjamin had realized how COLD the snow is and we were done.  Getting snow down your sleeve induces a very particular kind of whining that I had not yet heard from him and probably won't again any time soon.  Not that I blame him--I whine when I get snow down my sleeve too.

So the somewhat unexpected snow kept us from our Christmas dinner with JB's extended family in Dallas, but it didn't keep us from having a nice time with the more immediate family in SS.  It was a relaxing 4 days--we didn't have too much planned, but that is sometimes the best.  We ate well, got to hear and play good music, JB got to see some old friends, and we all spent time with Midge.  Benjamin got to find eggs in the chicken house every day and play drums with granddad.

We woke up Christmas morning to a power outage, so we huddled around the gas heaters and lit candles, and were generally thankful for having a gas stove for making coffee.  When we got around to opening gifts, Benjamin opened one gift and was ready to play with that for the rest of the day.  I felt like I was going against everything I valued by encouraging Benjamin to open more, more more!  How wonderful to live with absolutely no expectations for Christmas day at all.  The tree, the egg nog, the presents--all a bonus on what was already going to be a pretty good day because you are a toddler at your grandparents house.  I think the only way to maintain this sense of wonder at Christmas over the years will be to help him have fun giving gifts.  It was great fun this year helping him understand the idea of giving a gift--he helped wrap presents and would repeat over and over again what we were sending to baby Jack in NY.    I wonder what Christmas is like next year with a three year old?

 

I made a Christmas pudding this year.  Thanks to Aunt Mary for letting me borrow her pudding mold.  Here's the pudding up in flames.  

We got to have second Christmas when we finally made it back home through the snow and ice to our own (poor dried-out) Christmas tree.  Grammy and Grandpa in NY gave Ben and Jack both these great chairs for Christmas this year.

 Aunt Mary made the sock monkey perched there by the B, and Auntie Karen made the memory game in the bottom picture from her own wood.  So creative, huh?  Right now B likes to just find the matching pictures and give them all out as cookies (or whoopie pies) to whoever he sees.

We sure missed going to NY this year.  By not going, however, we got to have an appointment with Christy the day after Christmas, and we found out that we are going to have a daughter!  We couldn't be happier.  She is becoming more real to us every day as she kicks away inside of me and Benjamin learns to talk about having a sister.

Benjamin really likes to help with the baking and cooking.  Spreading butter on the cutting board is his specialty.  Good thing we have him around.

National Pie for Breakfast Day

And now--with the newsletter at the printer, one final given, a few papers graded, and one sleepy boy upstairs saying over and over "good night, don't let bed bugs bite"--I think I have a minute to finish a post I started right after Thanksgiving.



As good a day as Thanksgiving is--and I do LOVE Thanksgiving--this year, I found myself really looking forward to the day after:  National Pie for Breakfast Day.  And then on Friday I had pie for breakfast and regretted it all day.  We were trying to leave for Sulphur Springs all morning, but I felt so awful that it took us a while to get on the road. 

Another way of telling this story would be that after what seemed like two-weeks in the clear, morning sickness reared its ugly head once again.  I still don't know which one it was--pie or morning sickness-- but I don't think I've said yet on this blog that we are expecting another baby, so there it is!  He or she is due May 23, and we (me and JB) are filled with a complex of emotions of about it that happy or excited or anxious does not seem to do justice to.  This is what we wanted, and we are looking forward to having another child, but I just remember how hard those first few months were.  Right now May seems too far away to think about it too much.

JB didn't have to work the week of Thanksgiving, so we did some traveling.  We had a great one-night camping trip to Colorado Bend State Park in the Texas Hill Country, we had a delightful Thanksgiving day at Neil and Christy's house, and we eventually made it to Sulphur Springs for a few days with JB's family. 

I think Benjamin enjoyed just about everything about camping.  The tent, his own little sleeping bag, the campfire, the freedom to play all around our campsite, the river, and even the hiking.

Benjamin pretending to sleep in our tent 

The Colorado River 

Our campsite is in the background--you can see our tent through the trees.

We did end up going on one hike that was a little harder than it looked like it would be.  Normally, it would not have been a hard hike at all, but for a pregnant mama, a daddy with a bad knee, and a 2-year old in a backpack, it was a little rough.  This is our new normal, at least for a while, and we just need to get used to it.   The hike was just 1.5 miles to a 60 foot waterfall, but we didn't account for having to climb down to the bottom of the waterfall at the end.  And then we had to go back. It was a beautiful hike, but would not have made the choice to do it if we had known. 

Thanksgiving moves right along into Christmas, and this year, Benjamin is into it.  REALLY into it.  The Saturday after Thanksgiving, we went with JB's parents to a little Christmas in the Park celebration at a heritage park near their house and I think we were all amazed at how much Benjamin loved it.  He is transfixed by Christmas lights and was of course delighted that there were cookies to eat at almost every old house that we walked into.  He still talks about and imitates the handbell choir playing Christmas Carols and the blacksmith hammering on metal.  And the real surprise to me is that he remembers the name of the woman who handed us popcorn at one of the houses.  Whenever we have popcorn now, which has been a few times, he says "Mary Lucy!  Mary Lucy gave us popcorn!"

So now we're back in Waco, trying to enjoy the beginning of advent while hurriedly finishing up final grading.  Benjamin helped set up our tree.

And we are reading a book for advent with our small group called "Silence:  And other surprising invitations to Advent" by Enuma Okoro, which focuses on the story of Elizabeth and Zechariah.  It's been a great source of discussion and inspiration so far this season.

Raking leaves and putting up Christmas trees go together in Texas.  

Halloween

 Last year at this time I was really happy to have a one-year-old who didn't care a thing about halloween, dressing up, or even candy.  I savored my last year NOT thinking about halloween costumes. I really did.

That was the last year for a long long time.  Now B is into everything about halloween, and I have to say--we had a lot of fun.  We carved pumpkins and made jack-o-lanterns and we dressed up and went trick or treating around our little neighborhood.  And this year Benjamin is very much aware of the existence of candy in the world.

I feel the need to apologize for all of the people (mostly Amy) who inspired me with many fun costume ideas.  It was fun imagining.  But then it came to the day before halloween and B still didn't have a costume. Handmade was just not going to happen.  So we got some more use out of his raincoat and rain boots--which he loves--and bought a fire hat and there you go.  We had to spend some time explaining what a firefighter is, but he got excited after we explained it.   

The first thing B did after walking out the door to go trick or treating was slip down the stairs, so we had to have a little comfort time on the swing before setting out.  Rain boots are hard to walk in!

I wish we had gotten some better pictures but here he is at the next-door neighbors' house deciding whether or not he wants to verbalize trick-or-treat.  Mostly he said it when no one was around to hear it.

After all that, B did well for about three or four houses on the block and then he was ready to go home.  Until next year, halloween!    

Two-year-old at an art museum...

The subject of this post makes it sound like this is going to have a bad ending.  In fact, it doesn't.  We were all pretty impressed by how well Benjamin did around the ancient sculptures and Old Master Paintings.  Of course with an entourage of six adults, you would hope...

But first, a few pictures from Benjamin's birthday last weekend.  I read on the internet somewhere that for an outgoing toddler, it is best to invite no more than 7-8 other children to a birthday party.  That was interesting to read when we had 50 people coming in just a few hours.  

In fact, Benjamin did really well.  He knew everyone, mostly family, church friends, and a few other friends, and was able to greet most of them by name when they arrived.  I know in the picture below he looks really thrilled about the prospect of blowing out his candles, but we just didn't get very many pictures.  B was especially pleased that his grandmommy and grandad and his Aunt Mary and Larry got to come for his party.   Thanks so much for making the journey! 

In Fort Worth this weekend, Benjamin decided that he only wanted to hold grandmommy and granddad's hands for pretty much the whole trip. Grandmommy would have one hand and I would try to grab the other and he would say, "No!" and call for grandad.  Ok then.  

I love those Fort Worth art museums.  Benjamin had a lot of fun inside the echoing steel sculpture by Richard Serra.  The picture above is looking at it from afar and in the picture below B is enjoying the sounds of the sculpture.  

And below is B's entourage for the weekend:  Benjamin calls then Aunt Tommy and Uncle Nancy, and they are flanked by the grandparents.  Having six adults for one toddler is a GREAT ratio.  Why don't we do this more often??  

So I realize I may be leaving you with the impression that Benjamin put up with a day full of art museums.  This would be misleading. He did great in the Kimbell for about an hour, identifying the dogs and other familiar items in the pictures.  Then we played in and on the outdoor sculptures and headed to the botanical gardens, where he was free to run and roam free.  We had a fun dinner at the Woodshed smokehouse, where B enjoyed his rabbit and rattlesnake sausage, and we all enjoyed sitting out by the river on a beautiful night.   Thanks, ya'll, for inviting us to join you for the weekend!  

is there a theme that ties this post together??

AIN'T FIRE-AH??

At about 3am one night a few weeks ago, Benjamin had been awake for two hours already.  He was lying between us in our room at the family reunion and he had been silent for a couple of minutes.  We were hopeful that he was drifting off...and then he decided he wanted his Auntie Sara.  I didn't understand what he was saying until he added Unc Sean.  We all lay there for hours--JB says three hours but I think it was more--as B lay calmly talking to us about everything he had done that day, about driving through tunnels, and most of all about all of his family and friends in the North.  Just as we would start to doze off again, he would start in with another theme.

Looking dapper and ready to go fishing

As tired as I was, his constant stream of talk was endearing.  Some of his talk is a puzzle that we have to figure out, but it is rewarding to realize he is talking about something we didn't think he would remember or know how to talk about.  I love this stage of exploring language and developing imagination.

On our way home from the family reunion he brought up Amy and feeding the dogs again.  I suggested we could skype with Amy when we got home, but he must have thought I meant we would SEE Amy at home.  When we pulled in the driveway and we weren't at Amy's house he started to cry and cry.  If we hadn't all been so tired, I would have called Amy right away.  But as it was, I don't remember the last time I felt so dragged out.  We all sort of collapsed in a heap from a fun but un-expectedly exhausting weekend.

Fishing with daddy at the family reunion

JB and I have both been pretty busy this fall with work and other commitments, so we were happy to find ourselves with a few free hours to enjoy our one really rainy Saturday of the season.  Seriously, he got the rain coat below when he was 17 months and this is only the third time he has worn it, I think.  

Benjamin seemed to enjoy reading Where the Wild Things are out on the porch, but every time we have asked him if he wants to read it since then, he answers with quite a stern "No!" Oops--I hope it didn't scare him too badly.  

Found some snails...

And here is Benjamin getting a feel for the worms.  I'm just glad he doesn't yet think to put things in his pockets.  I know that day is coming.  

Part III and Life Goes On

Life goes on.  Vacation pics have had to be side-lined!  We've started school--all of us.  JB is teaching a journalism class, I'm teaching two sections of Brit lit, and Benjamin is working on his first book.  It's called "I am Growing," and so far I think it consists of a print of his hand in paint on a piece of yellow construction paper.  

B is doing great in the two-year-old class.  I was a little anxious because he's not *quite* two, but really I knew he would be fine.  One of the teachers, Miss Mel, said that she was impressed by how eager he is to help and to participate in all of the activities.  I like to watch him from the door for a minute before he sees me when I pick him up in the afternoon--he's this little independent person in a world I only know the surface of.  He seems to love it and so do I.  

B's class started two weeks after mine did, so we had to get other arrangements for childcare.  Those two weeks actually turned out to be a great blessing.  Aunt Mary, who lives in Temple, about thirty minutes away, was able to come up to watch B for four of those days.  I love that she got to know Benjamin better by spending so much time with him, and Benjamin got to know her too.   She made a little photo flip book one day of all of the things in Benjamin's daily life--cup, blocks, car, piano, Brazos, parents, etc.  He is just tickled to see all his stuff and his people in pictures.  

The two weeks before B's class started were also the two weeks I needed to work hard on an article I am revising for a journal.  So B got to bond with his Grandmommy during her three day stay with us too!  And JB and I enjoy having her as part of our daily life for a few days. I love special occasions, but I think a special kind of bond is formed by letting folks into our daily lives.  

And that is one thing I loved about our long trip to NY this year.  I think we achieved that daily-life feeling more during a two week stay.  

But then we had our all-too brief visits with Stephanie in RI and Amy in CT.  A highlight of course was B's first time in the ocean.  He was so enthralled with everything about being on the beach--the waves, building sand castles, even eating a bit of sand with his lunch.  

We ate well one our little jaunt to New England.  Here is our contribution to one of the meals--we took a picture for Karen.  We used all of the vegetables you gave us from your garden--beets, onions, cucumbers make a great salad.  

And I got far too few pictures from our visit with Amy.  Maybe we would have gotten more if the mozzarella we tried to make had actually worked out.  What a disaster!  Two batches down the drain!  We followed all of the directions!  Good thing we'll be friends long enough to try again some day, huh?   

Benjamin's new favorite game (still) is giving treats to dogs.  Zephyr and Gatsby are well-loved.  

And finally, on our last day in the North East, I became a godmother.  And, more importantly perhaps, Jack got baptized.  Here is the happy family with Father Sal.  It was a beautiful service. You wouldn't have known through it all that Sara had laryngitis.  I've never seen such a trooper.  

And finally (really this time) here I am with my godson, Jack Brennan.  I am proud to be an important part of his life--even from far away.  (And I love the fun dress Sara got me to buy--she has such a better eye for clothes than I do).  Here's to you, Jack!  

Summer in NY Part II

It was certainly a joyous reunion when JB joined us in NY after we had been away for 1.5 weeks.  Greeting family after a time away feels even better than Christmas.

We spent the first day of his visit up at Mohonk with (almost) the whole family.  Too bad Karen couldn't be there.  I think Sara and I have finally gotten over the strangeness of visiting there after having worked there and knowing way too much about the world of Mohonk employees.  It's such a beautiful place; I'm glad it's not spoiled forever.

Benjamin helped paddle us around the lake.

Then we went with grammy and pa on their favorite hike.  

The massive weeping beech tree above was better than a playground for wee ben.  

And we spent lots of time in the big tree house with Auntie Sara, Unc Sean and Grammy. (Sorry about this picture, Sean..it was the best one of everyone else: ) )  I think we figured out that building one of these in our backyard might be possible, right, JB?   

Mohonk is such a relaxing and fun place to spend time together as a family.  

We spent the next morning out at Karen's homestead.  Benjamin loved meeting her blue horse, turkeys, and chickens.  We loved getting to see where Karen lives, and had a lovely hike  with her and her dog Chip along the beautiful stream that parallels the road she lives on.  I miss lush places deep in the woods like this when I am in Texas.

I think I have one more set of pictures to post from this trip.  I just can't get over how many fun things we did without getting burnt out. With all the pictures I have, I'm in danger of forgetting the things we didn't take pictures of :  a bike ride on the rail trail one evening, an evening in Ellenville to see a play with dad, many afternoons in the backyard with B in the pool, Hudson Valley Shakespeare festival at Boscobel, afternoon tea at the Tea Room with Sara and Mom, and Sara convincing me to buy a dress that I never would have picked out myself : )  And a great trip to Bear Mountain state park and zoo with dad during which my camera ran out of batteries after I took just one picture.  

Summer in New York Part 1

 This summer I spent, with Benjamin, a relaxing 2.5 weeks in upstate NY with my family with excursions to RI and CT to see friends.  JB was with us for the last week.  This was a perfect amount of time to be away from home and have enough time to spend with everyone.  Looking back on it now, I cannot believe how much we did during those two weeks.  We went out almost every day and did almost all of my favorite things to do in the Hudson Valley.

First of all I got to meet the guy above.  What a sweetie.  But he keeps his mama busy.  I loved spending lots of time with Jack, and Benjamin loved playing with Jack's toys.  When we got home last week, B found a pacifier behind the mattress on our bed.  B hasn't used one since he was about 6 months old, so yeah.  Anyway, I asked him if we knew a baby we could give that pacifier to, and he said "Baby Jack!"  It was a nice thought, but don't worry  about getting an old pacifier in the mail, Auntie Sara.

We hiked at Minnewaska and waded in the lake. 

We enjoyed the beautiful flowers at the Orange county arboretum. 

We went to the Ulster County Fair!  Benjamin's first merry-go-round.  

He didn't love the rides, but he could have spent all afternoon sipping on the lemonade.  

He helped his Auntie Sara make whoopie pies.  He got really good at saying "whoopie pie!"  

And oh man were they good.  

 I'll just have to do a few more parts to this summer in NY post.  Just so you know, he can still recognize all of you in the pictures.  And he still seems to remember some of the things that we did...especially the lemonade.  

Time for bed.