Pa Rump Bum Bum Bum

Looking back on 2007 reminds us of how we’ve been busy and how we’ve been blessed.

Seats on planes have been numerous — the whole family flew to California for Amy’s brother’s wedding, to a family reunion in Colorado, and to Texas for work, as well as relaxation with Joshua’s family. Not to mention Joshua and Serena flying to Texas for a week in September and Amy and Serena taking their turn in Arizona in December. (Hey, she’s free ‘til she’s 2!)

And the keys ter the car have fired up the engine for quick trips to New Jersey where we caught up with friends, to the hills of West Virginia for a retreat, to a conference at Montreat, and to North Carolina for Thanksgiving.

But we haven’t done all the traveling. Both sets of Serena’s grandparents came for her baptism. Her Aunt Elisa and new cousin Ava visited from Utah so the girls could meet. And her Uncle Jonah and Aunt Lydia, the newlyiest-weds in Joshua’s family, came in from Oklahoma.

Rearing Serena is an adventure and a pleasure. She celebrated her 1st birthday halfway through a year in which she learned to walk, talk, “read” books, sign words, dance, chase the dog, stack blocks, climb stairs (and lots of other things), take a bath, use a fork, and baa like a sheep. Luckily, it wasn’t all in the same day, but almost– we’re lucky to stay a close step behind her. And as anyone who’s had a toddler knows, she’s brought new joy to small things like bare feet in fresh spring grass, summer wading in the creek, the dairy-air at a fall festival, and the enticing twinkle of Christmas lights.

The tail of Joshua’s life includes lots of daddying, spurts of housework, surprising organization, increasingly skilled home remodeling, hours of soccer refereeing, and occasional rounds of disc golf. He volunteers a ton at the church as a valuable partner in Amy’s ministry, youth Sunday school teacher, and inquirer in the ordination process. And he’s even taken a crack, quite successfully, at worship band leadership.

The bottom line in Amy’s life has been a challenging and enjoyable ministry focused on young adults and alternative worship leadership. She’s also become adept at juggling mommying and meetings and is pleased to provide valuable moral support in the old-house remodeling process.

Speaking of buns,* most of you know there’s another one in the oven, due to arrive around the end March. The gender will remain a surprise again, but we do know that both Amy and baby are healthy.

*In hindsight, you may notice some barely veiled references. Obviously, you've found your way here to our blog to check your powers of perception - you'll find the intentional references in green.

We hope your Christmas and the coming New Year are filled with the peace of Christ.

Whew!

In the last month, we've been in Texas, North Carolina, and Arizona - and in West Virginia long enough to do laundry and repack, rake leaves, and cut down a Christmas tree. Even with the busyness of December and the holidays, it's nice to be home for a while.













In San Antonio - with the Sutherlun grandparents and Uncle Jacob.

Thanksgiving dinner in North Carolina at Hubert's house. (Yes, we served her dinner on a piece of (nonbreakable) foil. But the rest of us had real plates.)





Hiking in Arizona with the Poling grandparents and Uncle Paul.

Photographs

We seem to be having a bit of a photo-losing problem around our place these days. The big loss is all our digital photos from 2007 (unless some technological miracle recovers them from an explained computer deletion incident). This is sad, of course, as many fun momentos, particularly of Serena's growth and changes, were lost. However, some pictures have been saved, thanks to the wonders of internet photo sights, so we do have proof that we loved her enough to attempt to archive the past 10 months of her life, and enough photos to keep us entertained in our old age.
And in some ways, this will alleviate the pressure to make sure we take as many photos of our second child as we did of Serena. I'm suspecting that might be a problem since we had an ultrasound a few weeks ago (okay, almost a month) and promptly left town the next day. On the plane I found myself wondering... "Huh, where did I put those ultrasound pictures from yesterday? Did I leave them at the doctor's office? In the car?" Not only were they not with me, so I could show them to everyone I met, I didn't even know where they were. Luckily, though, I did leave them, securily stored in the car (where I'm sure I intended them to be safe from all the packing/leaving town madness). So, here are some pictures of Baby #2. We have once again decided to leave the gender a mystery until his/her arrival. Something has to be a surprise, since modern technology assures us he/she has a spine, ears, overbite, and such.

Halloween in Texas

Serena was a chick for Halloween. Had a great time walking in circles at a carnival at her grandparents' church - something about the costume threw her off...

More Expected to Come

Our recent months have been fairly busy. I have spent at least five days a week refereeing soccer games for the middle schools and high schools around here. We have decided to put all of the money I make towards vacation. If I only had a better job we could go somewhere exotic. I have recently found out that my brothers both have full time jobs, which means that I am the last in the family to hold down a real job. It is truly a proud moment. I'd like to thank all the examples of laziness and underachievement in my life, especially my dog Bishop, who could have been a show dog if he wasn't a eunuch and a mutt. My parents are so proud!

But I have found a way that my brother cannot compete with me (at least thus far). While my sister has 3 children and was certainly the first to give my parents grandchildren, I have properly and orderly been the second in the family to have a child. And while the job prospects are looking no better for me, the prospects of yet another child are looking up. To tell you the truth, we are 1/3 of the way there. It turns out, unlike my dog, I am not a eunuch. So, for those of you who have been confused by my sharp intellect and delightful will, I am going to spell it out for you. We are pregnant!

There, I've said it. You now know it, because you have read it. Unless you have a temporary loss of short term memory. So, in planning for all scenarios, I will repeat myself' We are pregnant!

God Bless,
Joshua

Fall Farm Festival

We took Serena to the Bob Evans Farm Festival in Ohio last weekend. It was a really pretty day and Serena got to pet her first sheep, horse, and llama. She's not real good at the sheep and horse sound, but she's got the llama down. Oh yeah, we can't forget the Angora Rabbit as well. Nice Bunny!



On the whole it was too old for her and too young for us. But we did run into a couple of groups of friends who took the plunge with us. It was a cheap outing and a nice Saturday drive through the backroads of Ohio. But a couple of years from now, Serena will really enjoy the farm and who knows maybe she will even be a part of the tractor square dance.

Talking

If we ever get advanced enough to add video, I may enhance this post. Serena talking is a lot of fun. Her repertoire thus far includes:

Mama and Dadda - though the current favorite is the Da sound
Bah bah - complete with waving
Whazz-at? (accompanied by pointing)
Whazz-is? (accompanied by grabbing)
Ish-ah - this is clearly "Bishop," which he may even figure out soon.
Uh-ew - this one requires a lot of concentration and still the second syllable is a little off, but it's my favorite... not too mention useful with all the falling she does
ow! - often accompanied by self-inflicted pain to give a reason for the exclamation

All the rest of the things she says we have, as yet, failed to translate successfully. She's been patient, though.

Home Alone

Well, Joshua and Serena are in Texas visiting his family and I finishing up day 3 of 5 days home alone. There are some nice things about it, I'll admit.

1. I can eat (or not eat) what I want when I want and I don't have to pick up bits of food off the ground after the meal.

2. I can go shoe shopping in between the office and an evening meeting without anyone wondering where I am.

3. I can work on my day off tomorrow and not feel bad about missing out on any time with my daughter.

4. My magazines are still sitting where I left them on the coffeetable.

5. I can hop in and out of the car without wrestling a sweaty, squirmy body into or out of a carseat.

6. I get the whole bed to myself and no little baby voice wakes me up before the alarm in the morning.

Of course, there's a negative side to this solitary existence as well.

1. It's hardly worth cooking for one person, and, evidently, sometimes the Wendy's is out of potatoes.

2. It's hard to figure out which size shoes to get Serena when I can't hold them up to her little foot.

3. I can work on my day off tomorrow... and am going to.

4. My dirty dishes are also still sitting where I left them in the sink, and I don't think Joshua's going to do them.

5. I keep walking around to other side of the car first anyway, and no one's smiling or waving through the window.

6. I make Bishop sleep in the bed with me so the creaky house sounds don't freak me out, so I don't really have the bed all to myself. And I'd rather have a little baby voice wake me up, even there's no snooze button.

So the final assessment is that I miss my two favorite people. How could I not?

Walking and Wiring

As we watch our child slowly and unassuredly release her arms from the stationary objects that have before now kept her standing, we can't help but count those little wobbly steps with glee. Thus far she has made it all the way to eleven, at least that we have been in the room to catch. Today Amy walked back into the living room when Serena was squealing and found her standing in the middle of the room. Not sure if she walked herself there or simply stood up in place, either way it was exciting to her. It is amazing what you can do when you stop fearing what you are unsure of and just go for it.

Today was also a momentus day as I finally finished wiring the back room of the house, something that I have been doing for at least six months. The best part of it all is that everything worked the first time. Perhaps the most gleeful part for me was the fact that I actually did the whole room without the hands on help of someone more expert than myself. Scary I know, but it all works and perfectly as far as I know. I know that it took me too long, but I am still amazed that I could do it alone. I still believe that construction is not about what you know, it is just about being willing to get yourself in a mess and working your way out of it. It is allowing yourself to stop fearing what you are unsure of and to just go for it.

Maybe that is what growth is about. As long as we only allow ourselves to walk with our hands securely attached to the coffee table we can certainly have fun, but we can only circle around to where we started. And once the coffee table is cleared of all the debris your parents keep putting on it despite the overwhelming evidence that it will end up on the floor, there is nothing more to accomplish. You must take your hands away from the table and learn to balance yourself before you can learn to get yourself in real trouble when the parents aren't looking. Here's to baby gates!

We're Weaning

This Monday began Serena's passage into toddlerhood. Though we did not hold an official ceremony or celebrate with party hats, Serena has taken an important step towards her future. On Monday morning, Joshua rose from bed at approximately 7:30 AM and took her downstairs and no longer to bed with us for her morning breakfast. As we slowly cut mommy meals out of her schedule this one was the last to go, and we must admit that we are making her go cold turkey. Maybe this will give her an inner strength and will power, or maybe it will mess her up too early, we will not know until she is 30. But we are under a bit of pressure to have this accomplished before Tuesday the 3rd. Joshua and Serena will be taking the first trip without the momma to visit Joshua's parents, and though it will upset Amy a bit she has been kind enough to let us go. 5 days without mom means that she must be able to survive without that small comfort, so the mark has been set and we are doing well.

Serena has now made it 4 days without breast milk and is hardly complaining about it at all. Though this morning she woke up so hungry that she wouldn't quit crying until I has scrambled and fed her two eggs. But that was least because of the absence of breast milk than the absence of food in her belly from not eating well the day before. Though we do still have to do some advance planning for her meals, she eats almost anything we eat and she seems to love the freedom of feeding herself. She is growing up fast and the first time she walks will be the end of me leaving her sitting and playing in the living room. Someday soon she will break me of my selfishness. You know, I set out to type this blog like it was could have been written by either of us, oops. So you now get half-n-half. God Bless.

Joshua

Progress

Serena is growing and learning in leaps and bounds. In the past weeks since we blogged, she has cut her 7th tooth, can stand on her own without falling down to hurt herself, she topped 16 lbs and while she is still below the growth charts she is perfectly healthy. She also beat her first major virus last week and is eating more than her body weight every couple of days. It is highly impressive. And while just like her mother she has taken no affection for beans, she did eat a small pickle today, so there is still hope.



Amy and I have discovered that we really need to curb on our ability to ignore small inconviences. As we walk up our stairs six or more times a day ignoring the things we have piled there to carry the rest of the way, having to walk in a tight line up the right hand side as not to trip. As we pile dishes in our kitchen thinking we will get to it later soaking them in the sink, having to push them aside to fill our glasses with water. As we walk carefully through our room stepping over and around shoes and clothes, having to search through our suitcases from the recent trip for clean socks. The answer to this problem seems to be to get more annoyed, to be more easily put out by such things. So, from now on, watch out household items that stand in our way, for you are going to get on our nerves much too easily and we are going to put you in your places. Watch out you food spotted dishes, for we will not put up with your rubbish nearly as long and you will be made clean. Watch out you clothes that form the challenging obstacle course in our bedroom, for our closests and drawers will be made full and you will not see the light of day until you are upon our backs or backsides. We will not be overrun, for we are the HUMANS!



Joshua

working on walking

Serena's still working on walking. It's mostly a nerve thing now. She spends a lot of time pushing various things around and we spend a lot of time slightly stooped over to hold her hands as she walks.

Baby Meets Concrete

Yeah, Serena fell on the concrete. On my watch. Turns out she's pretty tough, though. - Amy

One Year Old!

It's been a big week for Serena. She turned one year-old last Saturday - at Montreat, where we had a great time at the Christian Life Conference. Then we had her first birthday party when we got back on July 4th. All her friends - well, all our friends - came and played along with the bean-themed games (picked for my nickname for Serena). They generously brought packages of diapers that we'll donate to TEAM of WV in celebration of Serena's first year of life - TEAM help strugging moms give their babies a good start. Since Serena's been blessed in so many ways, especially by the love and care of so many people, it seemed fitting that she share a little of that blessing with some other babies.

Thanks to all of you who love our baby so well. Joshua and I are incredibly blessed by wonderful friends and family who have enjoyed this first year with us. We look forward to seeing who sticks it out through the terrible twos :).

Baby in the River

We took a day trip today with Uncle Jonah and Aunt Lydia, to the New River Gorge. Very pretty - "Wild and Wonderful" West Virginia generally lives up to its claim. We ended up cutting our hike short to swim in the river. It was really cold water, but Serena loved it. Life is incredibly good for this little family.

Another trip - to the Garden State

We went to New Jersey last weekend so Joshua could ref a soccer tournament and I could visit friends and shop a little. I think Serena enjoyed the trip thoroughly. Here are a few pictures, of course.

Serena watching her Daddy at the soccer tournament.

Serena "swims" for the first time. At first she wondered why the bath water was so cold. Luckily, her older friend Annika helped her adjust.

Serena really enjoyed her fruit at the Thatchers' house. That's how most of us eat when Lois cooks!

Belated Wedding Pictures

Serena got to hang out with her cousin Ava, who's 6 months old, when we were at her uncle Paul and Aunt Veronica's wedding. Yes, that wedding was almost a month ago, but 2 more trips later, I'm finally having a chance to upload new pictures. We had a WONDERFUL trip to California. Serena didn't really understand the time change, though.

Daddy's Girl Wears a Bow... briefly

Few things are sweeter than a Daddy and his little girl. Here's Joshua with Serena on the pier in San Diego. And a picture of Serena wearing a bow for the first time. It didn't last long, but we'll keep trying.

San Diego - Visiting Jeff, Melissa, and Sophia!

"Sharing" toys with Sophia - mostly stealing them.
Playing in the park together.
Daddies and babies over breakfast.

We made it across the country to visit the Burt-Graciks in San Diego on our way to my brother's wedding in San Francisco. We're having a great time, mostly watching the girls, who are, of coures, destined to be great friends. It's wonderful to see good friends after a while and have them be good friends still, with just a couple more of us around.

leaving at lunchtime

This is how I left Serena when I went back to work after lunch today. Sometimes it's hard for the mom to leave. If I had words of wisdom to give my daughter today I would tell her that she can be anything she wants to be, but it'll be really hard to be everything she wants to be.

Thou burning sun with golden beam . . .

The last two days have been incredible, well at least the weather has. The sun has finally found its way into the April skys, and while the house is still a bit cool, stepping out of the door enlivens you. As the world around us springs to life and the plants (and weeds) come out of hibernation I simply can't think of anything other than how blessed we are. I can't think of a better weekend for earth day.

Serena loves being outside, yesterday she sat in her swing for an hour and a half listening to the birds and enjoying the breeze. We have been a bit remiss in smathering her new skin with sunscreen but luckily she has not spent all that much time in the sun to date. I will be sure to lube her up before we grill out tonight.

She really doesn't like the grass however. too prickly I guess. It is sort of amusing as she holds her arms with elbows bent tight against her sides and one leg slightly off the ground so that as little of her as possible touches it. But I am sure this will pass and she will love to feel that grass between her toes soon enough.

No important news from the home front here. We are just a family enjoying the beauty of the changing season and glad to finally be past the last freeze of the season. Here's to your spring being sprung as well. Prost!

Bonnets are for girls

"Bonnets are for girls, Serena," said her daddy. I seem to be developing something of a weakness but Serena is getting pretty adept at taking them off, so Joshua, who thinks they look silly, might win out in the end. Still, when can you get some mileage out of a bonnet if not days before Easter when your little girl is 9 months old and the weather is beautiful (though the temperatures should drop into the 30s just in time for the sunrise service Sunday)? We've been out enjoying the weather the past couple weeks, and Serena's tried helping with the gardening, picking up plenty of dirt and flowers to taste. A visit to the doctor today has her weighing in at just 13 lbs 15 oz, so she's a little one, but that hasn't slowed her down at all.

Laziness, Tardiness, and Dial-up Internet

Following numerous complaints about us not making a post in over a month (okay maybe it was just 3), We are finally getting around to telling you about the 8th and 9th months of Serena's life, as well as ours mixed up in hers. Yet I feel I must tell you that this cannot be entirely my fault since we still have dial-up internet at the house and it would take 30 minutes for me to load a picture from home. So with no other choice, I will blame it on Amy (hopefully she never reads this). I am reading this, please note the typographical errors I am fixing, in red.

West Virginia is just coming into spring around here, the trees are budding and the grass is going from brown to a little less brown. But the best part is that I no longer fear taking Serena for long walks in frigid temperatures. We are hopefully going to be spending much more time in the sunshine in the upcoming months. But I am sure you did not come to this webpage to find a weather update, so let's talk about Serena.

At 11 days from nine months old, her third tooth has found its way through her gums, and while thrilling for me, mom has embraced this new development with a little trepidation as we try to continue to breast feed until she is 1. On February 18th, Serena was baptized here at First Pres. by Amy's father. She wore my great grandfather's baptismal gown from the 1880's and it fit her perfectly, though we did have to do some repair work on the sleeves (thank you Karen Morrison).

The last bit of information you may be interested in is whether or not this little "doll baby" can crawl. The answer most decidedly is yes. Though she is not as adventurous as some children she now moves about the floor finding anything and everything she can to stick in her mouth. This includes: magazines, dog treats, electrical cords, clothes, toys, Bishop (though she has not figured out how to taste him yet), and of course plastic bags. Nothing potentially fatal has happened yet, but soon (really? maybe we could prevent that...).

Sorry this blog is filled with so much information, but that is what happens when you wait over a month to update it.

God Bless,
Joshua
edited by Amy :)

Cousins

Serena and Ava hit it off - well, as far as we could tell. The 5 month age difference will be like nothing later, but it sure is a big difference now, between 2 months and 7 months. Serena is so much more mobile and responsive to her environment - things for Elisa to look forward to! We had a great time with Elisa and Ava here for the week and sent them back home in time for Elisa to go back to work. Hope they aren't too worn out.
A snowy trip home from the Louisville airport brought Grandma Poling for a quick 2-day visit before she had to go back to Arizona. Just when Serena was getting used to her... we'll look forward to another visit. Still lots of snow on the ground. Bishop is just waiting for Joshua to get back from North Carolina so they can play in it together. Serena and I are ready for him to come home too. Daddy's the best at putting Serena to sleep... and feeding and bathing and changing diapers and cleaning up (I'm hoping the positive reinforcement will bring big results!)

Lucky Number Slevin

Already 7 months old - and today she'll get to meet her 2 month old cousin Ava! We're so excited! Now if we can just make it across Kentucky to the airport (and back) without getting frsutrated about being in the carseat...

So Cheerful

We have been truly blessed with the easiest and most cheerful baby. Serena has had a cold of varying severity for almost a month now. Having a cold makes me pretty cranky. But not Serena - she remains so cheerful. And she continues to put up with a fairly ridiculously busy and irregular schedule without breakdowns or nighttime wakefulness.
We took her for her checkup and shots today - she's weighing in at 12 lbs 11 oz and is 26 1/2 inches. That makes her pretty light but long.

Baby Experimentation

We have found that not all babies enjoy sweet things. Despite the many stories we hear about children just loving fruit, Serena is already proving to us that she is an individual. Rice cereal has been a mainstay for her for the past couple of months, so for Christmas we thought we would give her a special treat; Bananas!

Nearly 3 weeks later, bananas are still in the experimentation phase along with peas and apple sauce. Not a single one of these items has gone down easily, or at all really, but we will overcome. The bananas showed us her first sour face, and a refusal to eat anything else that evening, the peas helped her to pronounce her first word, Bleeck, and the apple sauce combined the sour face with self-inflicted gagging and subsequent vomit. Thus far only the bananas have made it past her tonsils, but once she learned to gag herself, they have not entered paradise again.

The list of experimental foods grows larger each month, so squash, sweet potatoes, and peaches loom on the horizon and they will have their day soon. But here’s to squishing food into tiny non-chewable, easily digestible, nearly drinkable particles. Cheers!

Joshua