Mother's Day Outing

For me, a perfect mother's day includes spending time outside with my family.  This year we went to the Lake Waco Wetlands, one of Waco's hidden treasures.  I think JB and I went there just a week or so before Benjamin was born and here we are again a week or so (we hope!) away from our baby girl's birth.  Last time we were there though, B was younger and it was all we could do to keep him from throwing himself into the water.  This time e played in the water without trying to get in and was interested in all of the wildflowers and little critters we saw as we hiked.  He even hiked! And picked blackberries!  I love that Mother's Day is during blackberry season--we'll have to take more advantage of that in the future.  

We stopped at the hospital on our way out to the wetlands to get our bearings again--which entrance to go in, where to park, etc.  The whole Women and Newborns floor is completely renovated since the B was born.  Nice to have a swanky setting for your pain and suffering...I mean, beautiful birth experience.  

And here are my Mother's Day helpers busy with the dishes.  Not that they don't do the dishes at other times : )

Any time now...

All Benjamin's idea.  He's moving all around and saying "the baby's kicking!"  

At 37 weeks, our daughter is full term and I've hit the point in my pregnancy at which Benjamin was born 2.5 years ago.  A couple of nights ago I dreamt that I was in the early stages of labor and as I lay there half-awake a few times I was convinced I was going to have the baby.  I was going through in my mind all of the things I would have to re-schedule and stressing about how I would get my grading done.  When I finally woke up fully in the morning it took me a few minutes to establish that no, I was not in labor at all.  She's still happily shifting around in her warm little sac.  

"Ta-da!" says Benjamin. "It's just a bathroom towel!"

It's still so much fun to see Benjamin's growing understanding of the new baby.  We were in the grocery store yesterday and from his perch in the grocery cart, he reached out, grabbed my shirt and said, "The baby's going to drink milk from those." Yes, indeed, little Ben.  I think I only explained this to him once, but it obviously made an impression : )  

Not too much else right now.  JB has finished a few projects around for the baby like painting the dresser we got for Benjamin from Midge.  And the yard is looking pretty spiffy, I have to say.  This rose bush below finally bloomed in all it's glory this year after some rather sparse years.  We were still harvesting snow peas until a few days ago, and the tomato plants are looking full and green.  Benjamin knows that when they reach the top of the trellis, Aunt Amy is going to come visit, so he likes checking their progress.  First Grammy and Grandpa from NY, then Aunt Amy.  What a month June will be!

Dandelions and other scary things

 Here are a few pics of B at our church's annual Easter retreat, which was some weeks ago now.  The first scary thing of Easter weekend:  the smile on Benjamin's face in the picture above turned into a look of grave concern when he realized that the wagon he was climbing on was going to MOVE.  Was he really afraid of a hay ride?  JB was with him, and it sounds like he got over it and made it through the ride, but two year-old fears are sometimes inexplicable.  

Another case in point:  B put his food down on a patch of dandelions and started screaming and jumping around as though fire ants were biting his feet.  We took off his shoes and socks, but no ants anywhere to be seen.  Then we tried to put him back down on the ground and he would not let us put him anywhere near where he had stepped before, but the only things there were . . . dandelions.  

It slowly dawned on us that he was afraid of the dandelions, and the fear stuck with him for some weeks. I put him down in a patch of grass scattered with dandelions a week later and he would not move from the spot until we carried him through the dandelions.  I know it's difficult to imagine a two-year-old STANDING STILL for any length of time, but that's what a fear of dandelions will do.  He could not explain WHY he was afraid--maybe he thought they were thorny like cactus--but we've worked on it over the last few weeks and just this evening I saw him go over to a dandelion, pause for a couple of seconds, bend down, pick it, and blow the seeds away.  Phew.  

A tragic accident like the one in West, Texas (just 12 miles down the road) this week has a way of putting our lives into perspective, but I think I can still say that this has been a hard week.  I've felt proud of JB for working so hard to do the best coverage possible of the explosion and aftermath in West, but he worked a few 15 hour days dealing with some hard things like talking to families of first-responders who died in the explosion.

During those same days I picked up a stomach virus which had me quite sick and then Benjamin got it from me.  I know what we went through was nothing compared to the losses that many were experiencing right down the road, but I think being at home alone all day sick and with a sick child has a way of isolating you from a larger perspective on the world while you are in the middle of it. It wasn't that I thought JB should be home with us--not a all--I deeply respect his commitment to reporting on such important events.  I'm just saying it still felt hard.

We've all been better today and JB had the whole day off, so after church, naps, and some desperately needed cleaning and mowing, we went out to the lake for a friend's birthday party.  We're all thankful to be resting and playing together after a long week but still sobered by the losses from which many will not get a break this week or any time in the near future.

day trip to Dallas

I don't think I've included a picture of our second child on this blog yet, so here it is.  She's more active than I remember Benjamin being in the womb.  I may need that in writing to prove something when she's older.  

We took another of JB's days off to meet his family in Dallas to break injera bread together at a great Ethiopian restaurant and do a little shopping.  We also discovered a delightful stretch of Lee Park with a series of quaint bridges, lots of blooming red bud trees, and--to Benjamin's great joy--a playground.  

I wonder how we will think differently about taking a day trip to Dallas when we have two children.  I often feel like I'll just be holding my breath until baby girl turns two.  A few times I've been able to imagine the moments of joy in having two small ones, but mostly I think of it being hard. May the joy take me by surprise.  

And here are a few lovely things we did to celebrate my birthday last week.  B and I had a fun day together without any chores or errands.  The highlight was an afternoon at the park with a picnic snack (cupcakes!).  Later in the week we had some friends over for dinner--JB made a wonderful Moroccan-ish meal and we enjoyed drinks of various sorts in the goblets from Midge.  They won't be kept behind glass in our house!  I also made a strawberry cake, which I've been dying to make ever since I saw one at our new local bakery, Lula Jane's.  

A day on the farm

JB was able to take a few days off for Spring Break this week, so we took some time to do some really springy things like visiting the spring chickens and baby goats at the World Hunger Relief Farm.  In the above picture, I think you can see the delight on B's face at being on the farm.  

I think the picture also shows well that B is still a lot more enamored with the people he meets than the furry little creatures we expect him to like.  Holding the chicken was fine, he showed almost no interest in holding the bunny, but what he talks about after a visit like this are the people that he met.  The girl in the 2nd picture down accompanied us on our tour of the farm, showing B the goats and playing with him on the hay bales.  He wouldn't hold any hand but hers and talked about her all day long.  

Becoming a big brother

Benjamin still doesn't really understand how much his life is going to change some time around May 23.  Of course neither do the rest of us really!  But over the last few months, his understanding of what it means to be a big brother has grown.  The baby doll pictured above sleeping on Benjamin's chest has been one way we've been introducing the idea to him.  He has learned to hold, rock, and swaddle the baby, change her diaper, and now feeds her and puts her down for naps and bedtime periodically throughout the day.  

The picture above is how he wanted to go down for his nap today--with baby doll on his chest just like JB sometimes lets him sleep when he wakes up too early and comes into our room in the morning.  B also insisted that we read her a "tiny baby book" before they went to sleep.  I don't really know what he means by that, but  this soft version of "Are you my Mother?" satisfied him.  

The above picture is for mom.  Not so very long ago you showed me a candle you kept that had my tiny little kid fingernail prints all over it.  I thought of that when I found Benjamin occupied digging his own little fingernails into this candle in the living room.  We don't really use them anymore, so I let him do continue--I think he spent a good 10-15 minutes delighting in the feeling of sinking his nails in candle wax.  

One more little Benjamin anecdote.  We were all eating a meal together the other day when something I said (cannot imagine what!) made JB say to Benjamin:  "It looks like mama is wrong, huh?"  And Benjamin replied, "Unbelievable!"  I prefer to think that this was meant sincerely and not sarcastically, but there was a certain glint in his eye : )  Can two year olds be sarcastic?!  

This last photo shows one of my favorite things about our house in the winter.  The possum haw looks like this all winter.  When the morning light hits these bright red berries the world feel warm and beautiful.  Now little green leaves are starting to bud out, and it makes me a little sorry for spring to come.     

Here is a picture of a few things JB can do while lying on the couch with his knee elevated:  read The New Yorker, play the memory game with Benjamin and take pictures.  

I think the pictures below must have been BEFORE the knee surgery.  JB is really doing a lot better, and he can hobble around the house pretty effectively, but he still wouldn't be out there planting asparagus at this point in his recovery.  I am SO glad that he got this asparagus planted though.  We actually have at least 8 asparagus spears coming up already--surprising to me anyway since we just got it transplanted from the other garden a few weeks ago.  In a few days we'll have enough to make a meal.  I've lived in Texas for almost 10 years now (!) but it still amazes me to see the first signs of spring in the middle of February.  We have daffodils and other bulbs

The matching shirts were not planned.  But they do make a cute picture, eh?  B helped JB pound in the fence around the asparagus to keep Brazos from running through it.   

Another favorite activity recently has been painting.  He is getting the hang of watercolors--I'm sure he'll look forward to doing watercolors with his grammy when she comes to visit.  Do you think he has a chance for his own art show, mom??