10 Things

I don't usually do these things, but it gave me a reason to take a picture of my super-cute shoes =)

Rules for this tag: 10 pictures, take them right away- NO cleaning up first, and tag three friends!

1. Favorite destination: Hood River, my home away from home for 8+ years now...

2. Self-portrait: Hey, I look pretty put together for a woman who just got back from a trip to the vet with dog and 8 month old baby in tow!

3. What are your kids doing right now? Waking up from a 3 hour marathon nap and feelin' good.

4. My closet: Hardly worth taking a picture of. Like Emily, I share a small closet with my husband. I actually have more than 5 shirts, but they are all in the laundry!

5. The Laundry Room: not so much a room as a closet...

6. The Fridge: I just went grocery shopping so we're well stocked.

7. My favorite room in the house: Our bedroom, for all the obvious reasons =) and because I love the lanterns I hung this week!

8. The bathroom: Doesn't everyone have duckies scattered on their bathroom floor?

9. The kitchen sink: Wow, it's clean! I'm so proud =)

10. My favorite shoes: I finally found the green flats I have been dreaming about for years!

I tag Elaine, Janelle, and Casey, just if you have time =) Love you guys!

YAY!

I can't stop smiling =) Our dear friends, the Capps, are having a boy and we are so excited for them. Congratulations to Elaine and Shawn!!! We love you guys and love your little baby on the way!

Doin' stuff...

I had my first post-baby job interview today. I felt like things were going along pretty well until the nurse manager pulled out a 12 page quiz! I haven't thought about work stuff for at least 4 months but more like 9 to be perfectly honest. I worked a few days after Judah was born, but I mostly thought about him when I was at work then anyway. Needless to say, I don't think I did very well on the "skill assessment." My only hope is that the other applicants being considered for the position did worse... is that bad of me? The nurse manager said that if I don't hear in the next couple weeks, then I can assume I didn't get the job. That doesn't sound good, but besides that she was very enthusiastic so we'll see.

We went to the beach again, this time with our friends Myron, Dena, and the LaPointes. Once again a beautiful day in Florida, Judah got his weekly mineral intake, and the water was perfectly refreshing. Judah had a nice nap on Forrest's shoulder while he walked up and down the beach. Forrest got a nice sunburn, but Judah was less cranky, and really, that's a fair trade if you ask me =) I have to say though, the best part of the day was getting free coffee at Starbucks! Judah smiled so nicely at the barista that she gave us our order on the house. Atta boy, finally hauling his weight around here!

"Sand isn't as good as I remember."

We tried to get a video of Judah laughing to post, but as soon as he sees us pull out the camcorder, he totally hams it up. It is impossible to distract him from staring straight into the lens and grinning. I was, however, able to get some still pictures of his theatrical little self. Maybe we'll make a flip book...

Ok, ok, I guess I can find a couple more pictures of the little guy. Gosh! (Actually, Forrest and I had some friends over for dinner last night and neither of us even mentioned Judah until dessert was served! I know that is some kind of record.)

Judah's new trick

Mmmm, pizza!

Baby at the beach!

We had a wonderful day on Friday! Forrest had the day off and we headed out early to the beach and had a great morning sunning, swimming, eating sand (guess who!)... here are some pics =)

"What is this stuff you call sand? It tastes so strange... I think I'll have some more!"

Judah kept trying to crawl into the ocean! He is his father's son =)

Things that are not toys...

1. Food coloring

I was trying to be a good steward of the earth today and test my toilet for leaks to make sure we're not wasting water. We just got a handy flyer from the utility company on finding leaks: simply put a couple drops of food coloring in the tank of your toilet, then wait 20 min. to see if any of it has seeped into the bowl. No color in the bowl = no leaks. Color in the bowl = leaks that can be fixed with a $5 new valve seal that can save thousands of gallons of water a month! So, being the multitasking mother I am, I held Judah in one arm while putting the food coloring in the tank. Judah is "fresh," as my friend Beth would say, always grabbing things he shouldn't be =) In the mouth went the food coloring cap and very quickly he had blue lips, tongue, mouth, both hands, pajamas, and then my hands as I wrestled the cap away from him. Rookie mistake on my part, but at least he looks good in blue.

Old friends

Judah and I just got back from Detroit where we visited my dad's side of the family and celebrated my cousin Katie's high school graduation and cousin Chetta's college graduation. We had quite a bit of down time during the week and then the weekend was a flurry of activity getting ready for the graduation party and spending time with all the aunts, uncles and cousins. Judah had some stranger anxiety at first but by the end of the weekend he would let anyone hold him (except Uncle Dennis for some reason... =) ). I haven't seen most of the family since my wedding almost 6 years ago and they hadn't met Judah yet, so it was a special time. I think being around Judah even convinced Katie that she may want children of her own someday. He has that effect on people =) I wish I had pictures to post, but the one thing I forgot was our camera!

One highlight of the trip was connecting with one of my best friends from high school, Sara, who just finished her MPH at the University of Michigan and is now finishing some crazy brainiac research on pancreatic cancer before she moves on to some brainiac job, hopefully working for the Gates Foundation (If any Gates Foundation people are reading this, she's great! You should hire her and give her an absurdly enormous salary!). I had such a nice time catching up with her. I think I am pretty capable at a lot of things, but keeping in touch with people is not one of them. I'm terrible at it. My friend Elaine, whom I love, knew I must be pregnant last year just because I actually called her and it was so unusual. I really want to keep my relationships with friends when we move away from each other, it just doesn't come naturally to me. However, I have committed to myself to try harder! I've devised 5 step program:
1. Call the people I love. I am not in the habit of picking up the phone when I have a free minute, but with everyone having cell phones and free mobile-to-mobile, what a waste not to.
2. Respond to e-mails from old friends. I always want to write a long response when old friends contact me, and then I never get around to it, as evidenced by the e-mails from Maxi, Shelly, and Susan all sitting in my in-box from three months ago!
3. Visit friends and family for vacation. (My Aunt Maggie does a great job at this and is a keeping-in-touch inspiration in many ways.)
4. Keep in close touch with my closest friends. (My friend Janelle does a great job at this! She not only keeps in touch, but has a depth of relationship with the important people in her life that I really admire.)
5. Acutally do 1 through 4. The road to loneliness is paved with good intentions...

Roo is 7 months old today!

Yay for him and for us! To celebrate we went to the pool with our friends Beth and Will and had a wonderful time.

A friend of mine e-mailed me today asking about my experience with the doctor who delivered Roo and the hospital where we had him. I think my labor was pretty rough but enough time has passed that it is easy to talk about and I only have good things to say about the care we got. Later, having revisited his whole birth in my head, I was holding Roo and realized that the struggle we had in giving birth to him is not even in the same universe as the joy we get from having him. I can't even say how incomparable they are.
Ahhhh. The lightbulb slowly came on. God has been gently using my baby to open his word to me: "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." Romans 8:18

If Roo is any indication, the glory we hope for must be so, so great.