the olmsted family

MadHen's New Room

2012-01-25T20:36:00.000-08:00

Now that Henry is one full year old, we thought it was time to change the heading of this blog to actually include him in the family. Ok, you're right. It's been on my list of things to do for about, oh, 11 months. It's a long list, folks. A long, exhausting list.

But alas. Better late than never, and I think it was well worth the wait. Doesn't it look great?! My fabulously talented husband (who still doesn't think he is a graphic artist) created it with the inspiration from a little nickname Mimi has taken to calling the kiddos: MadHen. I like the nickname but I also like the image it conjures -- a slightly crazed mama bird squawking and clucking about. I can really identify with that bird at this time in my life. Not all of the time or even the majority of the time, thank God. But certainly much of the time. At any rate, I love the new graphic and I'm genuinely impressed with Kurt for his artistic eye.

This might be one of my favorite photos ever:

The Olmsted children are nothing if not expressive.

In other news, we moved Henry into Madelyn's room over the weekend. We have been fretting and stewing and plotting about this event for months and finally decided that there was never going to be a good, calm time to move two busy, giggly, easily distractable kiddos into the same room. So we ultimately just did it and didn't think too much about it. It hasn't been without complications, but oh my goodness...the amount of cuteness coming out of that room between 7:15 and about, oh, 9:00 when they finally can't keep their eyes open anymore is worth it all. The first night, Kurt and I kissed them both goodnight, shut their door, and then promptly sat down in the kitchen on the other side of the vent in their room to eavesdrop on their first parent-free sleep-over. Henry, in new surroundings, cried a bit when we left, but our girl Maddie really rose to the occasion. "Oh buddy, they hear you crying, but you'll be ok. I'm here. Do you see me over here? You can't? Ok, how about a back scratch? You have to lay down, Henry. Henry, you have to lay down. Lay down, Buddy. There you go!"

Henry then began chatting back to her "dadadada" over and over again and probably began pointing around the room because at one point she said "that's the humidifier...I don't know what it does but we run it every night." They got the giggles and chatted some more and there was a loud bang at one point. It took a few gentle reminders and about an hour and 45 minutes, but they did it. And they seemed to have a really good time, so that makes a mama's heart happy.

First Haircut

2012-01-14T20:26:00.000-08:00

Henry's first haircut! We're having family photos taken tomorrow and, well, it was time regardless. Our boy has a gorgeous head of curly hair. Look at those luscious locks:

But it can get a little, well, Trumpy at times:

So we visited Little Snippers this evening and Finny got the royal treatment -- fancy DVD, truck with a beepy steering wheel, flashy stars hanging from the ceiling, and bubbles. And we got a darling little "first haircut" certificate with his soft baby locks saved for his mama on his first day of college.

Seriously. We are simply smitten with this little boy!

Three + One = Whole

2012-01-07T20:04:00.000-08:00

One year ago today at 3:03 p.m. PST, Henry Finn entered the world, thus completing our little Olmsted family unit. I am so grateful that in spite of my exhausted, two-brain-cells-barely-bumping-together Mama forgetfulness, I remember that day so vividly. I remember seeing his face for the first time and thinking "Oh my goodness, he looks just like Madelyn did when she was born!" I remember how my body felt electric at how excited I was to meet my baby boy. I remember how Kurt lovingly and dutifully stayed by my side as they were getting me all put back together, but when I finally "released" him, he practically leaped over to where the nurses were weighing and measuring Henry so he could get a close look at his son. I remember snuggling with him chest-to-chest under a warm blanket in the recovery room and thinking "This, right here, just like this is pure bliss." I remember Madelyn entering the room for the first time and without saying a word walking straight to her new baby brother and quietly, tenderly, maybe a touch cautiously stroking his soft little head -- there were presents given to her but she was so focused on Henry. I remember driving away from the hospital on our way home (on a gorgeous sunny winter day) with TWO babies in the back seat, laughing and saying to Kurt "Look back there! There are two of them!"

This past year has been the fastest one of my life. Someone said to me once "With parenting, the days last forever but the years fly by." So, so true. What a delight it has been to watch Henry grow and change and see expressions emerge on his face and rolls fill out on his thighs and belly and chin. I've loved cheering him on as he learns new things and watching the wonder in his eyes as he takes in his environment (you know, every light in every room he's ever entered or the ginormous fan in the IKEA warehouse...). Every now and then in his profile or maybe a random expression I think I catch a glimpse of the man he will be someday. I'm sure I'll be ready for it when it happens (or at the very least I'm saving money for my future therapy fund), but for right now, I'm so glad I get to nurse my baby to sleep a bit longer and relish in his softness and innocence and dependence. Given that he is literally a part of me, my heart feels like I have always known him, and I am so grateful for every blessed minute of the last 365 days.

Happy Birthday, darling Henry Finn! You are deeply loved, sweet boy...

(Also, welcoming a second dependent into our world has shown us just how profoundly true the whole, "It takes a village..." saying is. I could not be more grateful for our "village" -- our family members and friends who listen and encourage and offer perspective and advice and, when necessary, meals and babysitting and playdates and hand-me-downs... You, too, are deeply loved!)

Henry the bi-ped! He took his first steps about a week ago and is now walking across rooms!

Shatter and Embark

2012-01-01T21:38:00.000-08:00

I'm not really into making New Year's resolutions, and yet I find myself secretly, privately doing just that every year. Most of the time, my resolutions are pretty traditional: get in shape, reduce my sugar intake, "don't sweat the small stuff," read through the entire Bible. Perhaps also traditionally, I'm only ever moderately successful with those resolutions, and they significantly peter out around the end of February (e.g. I know Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus REALLY well but not so much anything that comes afterward).

This year I don't have a resolution, per se, but more of a (forgive the expression) "do I have the balls to go after what I really want" kind of decision. Not sure how I present on the outside to all of you, but on the inside, my mind is a flurry of whims and dreams. I see someone's beautiful garden and I think, yes! I want to be a landscape architect! I read a book about farming and I think, hurray! I'm going to milk cows and grow vegetables! I knit a pretty little sweater and I think, perfect! I'll open a knit shop and knit for the rest of my life! Even if I were a cat with the proverbial nine lives, they wouldn't be enough to pack in everything I want to do and experience and accomplish. Thank God I believe in eternity with a new heaven and a new earth -- there will be plenty of time to take care of all of those whims and dreams eventually.

Nevertheless, I'm still living this life here, and even with the promise of eternity, I do believe what we do in this earth matters. I think we are each gifted in a unique way and fulfilled in a unique way and that God delights in seeing us follow our hearts and our talents. The challenge for those of us idealistic dreamers is that we can imagine just about anything. At some point, we have to close our eyes, settle the flurry, and feel which dream pulls at our heart most persistently, most longingly, most excitedly. Not being in your 20's really helps this process. Good grief, I think most of us have Identity ADHD in our 20's, and I'm so glad to be (mostly) through that.

I know without a doubt which dream calls to me when my spirit is most still. (Well there are two, really, but one is more private for my family and does involve vegetables and fresh milk from a cow. That's another story for another time.) I can see it, smell it, hear it and even taste it, but it's like there is this thick piece of glass as far as my eye can see that prevents me from just jumping right into it, and for the life of me I don't know how to break it. I want to. I feel like I've paced anxiously in front of the glass like a caged bobcat at the zoo for years. Enough already.

So. That's my goal for 2012: shatter and embark.

No idea where to go from here.

Happy, Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T21:47:00.001-08:00

Attended the best Christmas Eve service I've ever been to yesterday at our church, Mosaic. The music, in particular, was just beautiful. Toward the end of the service, the worship team did a series of carols that blended seamlessly one into the next: O Come O Come Emanuel, O Holy Night, and Silent Night. The words and the melodies were the same, but the chords were slightly different -- deeper, minor, more haunting. Underneath it all was this pulsing -- reverb, I think, from an electric guitar -- that created an incredible sense of mystery and yearning and urgency and awe. I was so moved that I was literally weeping because here's the deal: I believe that all the words in those songs are true. They aren't just fun, festive tunes to sing every December. They are the Gospel in its most direct, concise form that have somehow been accepted without question by the general populace for one month and sung with great enthusiasm no less. Not really anything else I want to say about that other than I hope your spirit was moved somehow this season too.

A few favorite moments from the last few days:

The Three Kings lined up waiting their turn to see the Baby Jesus. I guess we know what Madelyn's preschool teachers are emphasizing lately...

T.R.O.U.B.L.E. This is the look we get (frequently) when Henry knows he's somewhere he shouldn't be!

Evidently enthusiasm for olives skips a generation.

Umm, Henry is busy.

Papa and Nana's house and Baba and Mimi's house both have ceiling fans, and all Henry does the whole time he is there is point at them. Good thing his birthday is right around the corner...a ceiling fan isn't necessarily a traditional "first birthday" gift, but they just bring him so much joy!

Henry sporting a new hat for Daddy.

Madelyn has had this baby doll for a year and has barely picked it up. She got the doll bed and the diaper bag for Christmas and has suddenly been obsessed with caring for her baby. Who knew?

Good Night, Sleep Tight...

2011-11-27T10:27:00.000-08:00

...Don't let the bed bugs bite.

Innocent enough, right? Haven't we been saying this with smiles and tickles to our children for decades? I mean, who has ever really seen a bed bug anyway. Aren't they, like, cute with googly eyes and bobbly antennae?

Umm, yeah... They're not, and the Olmsted's will NEVER say this little rhyme to our children ever again.

Two weeks ago Thursday, we discovered a bed bug infestation in Madelyn's' room. She has woken up with small red spots on her body for over two months, which, in hind sight, means the bugs have been there, crawling on her and biting her for two months. I nearly vomited when that realization hit me. We spent the weekend at a beach house in mid-September, and about a week later, the spots started showing up, so I'm 99% sure that's where we picked them up. I knew something was going on with those spots, but when we asked our doctor (whom we love) about them, she said it was likely a reaction to the child pox vaccine she had gotten about ten days prior. She said the spots would go away within a week or so, but they didn't. I was so bothered by them, but I just couldn't figure out what was going on.

Then one night, Madelyn wet the bed, which is very rare for her. We were in her room in the middle of the night, pulling sheets and blankets, which we never are, and we found a little bug crawling on one of her blankets. We didn't think anything of it at the time until we found another identical bug on her pj's the next morning. Sure enough, upon further inspection, we found many more bugs crawling all over her bed frame, her pillow, and her blankets. In a flash, everything synchronized and made sense: bed bugs.

In the 11 days since that morning, total chaos has ensued in our house. Bed bugs, as I've learned, are among the hardest pests to kill because they are centuries old and have adapted and evolved over time. Only high, high heat and chemicals will kill them, and they can survive without any food for up to 18 months, so you can't even starve them out. They can lay their eggs between the ridges of a dime, and they like to burrow in the tiniest cracks and crevices, such as in a bed frame (where they have easy access to fine midnight dining) or underneath baseboards. It's not just a matter of having some pest guys come out, spray around the perimeter, and get back to life within a day or two. Even in a mild infestation (which we have been told ours is), it can take months to be sure that you've really obliterated the problem.

So. For a gal like me who tends toward anxiety and neat-nickery anyway, this whole ordeal has been extremely trying on every level -- physical, mental, and emotional. There is such a stigma associated with pests like bed bugs and lice, and I can't help but feel dirty even though our pest guy (Brandon, who has practically become part of the family in the last two weeks) assures me that he spends the vast majority of his time in clean, well-cared for homes like ours rather than cluttered, garbage filled homes that one might associate with these types of pests. Also, because you have to be so vigilant in order to truly get on top of a bed bug infestation, I now see potential bed bugs EVERYWHERE in my house. Every crumb on the floor or fuzz on a blanket or tiny red scratch on one of my kid's faces is assumed to be a bed bug until proven otherwise. Every morning before our feet even touch the floor, we get out a flashlight and inspect every inch of our beds, pillows, blankets, and bodies to see if they've survived the two treatments we've had thus far and are multiplying. We've had to wash and/or dry on high heat EVERY sheet, blanket, stuffed animal, and article of clothing in our entire house. Everything else that was in our two bedrooms has been bagged up in thick plastic bags with a special strip in there that will kill off any live bugs or eggs. I vacuum every other day just in case, despite our vigilance, one has hitched a ride on a blanket or stuffed animal and is in the living room slowly making his way back to a bedroom. This is an absolutely exhausting way to live, and the end is by no means in sight.

Furthermore, pest control is one of the most expensive things we've ever had to pay for. It's worth it, of course, because you do whatever you have to do and I certainly wouldn't do that job for any amount of money, but oh my goodness...it kind of takes your breath away.

Anyway, I am writing all of this for two reasons: 1) Oddly enough, I want to remember this time, not because of how awful it was but to remind me that we survived and encountered overwhelming generosity on the part of our family to help us get through it, and 2) to offer a few "Public Service Announcements" to all of you to help prevent you from ever having to deal with something like this. So, here is my unsolicited advice, gleaned from spending several hours with Brandon the Pest Guy in the last couple of weeks:

1. Bed bugs have become an epidemic in this country due to increased travel and increased population density. To avoid them, you must check every bed you sleep in at every hotel or house or wherever no matter how fancy or clean it is. Look for the actual bugs (which is hard because they only come out at night) or look for tiny black spots on the bed frame, mattress, bed-side tables, or baseboards which is their excrement.

2. Don't ever put your suitcase on the floor. Put it on a suitcase stand or a chair, and don't ever unpack your clothes from your suitcase or leave them lying around the room.

3. When you get back home, take your suitcase IMMEDIATELY to your washer and dryer and wash and/or dry EVERYTHING on high heat -- even the clothes on your back. Then vacuum out your suitcase thoroughly.

4. If you find small red spots on your body (or your kids' bodies), assume bed bugs first and look for them. They are very good at staying hidden, so you really have to hunt, but the sooner you can catch them, the better.

Anyway, that's about it, I guess. It's been kind of strange dealing with all of this around the Thanksgiving season, because I have to be honest that I didn't feel very thankful this season. This current bed bug infestation has really been just the latest crisis in a string of challenging things our family has been dealing with, really, for the last year. But it is true that life is all about perspective, and we are 100% in control of what we choose to focus on and what experiences we allow to occupy our hearts. By the grace of God, we fought for thankfulness in our hearts this season and very much felt grateful that bed bugs have been our worst problem and not cancer or foreclosure or starvation.

And, to prove the above point, let's end this post with some photos of our healthy, happy, currently bed-bug free children who bring immeasurable joy to our hearts on a minute by minute basis.

Madelyn and Henry playing in the biggest pile of leaves I've ever seen -- every leaf from the park behind our house! All the neighbor kids came out to jump in them one dry, sunny afternoon, and it was so much fun.

I love this shot of the trees in the park behind our house. We love being so close to a park.

Yeah, that about sums it up much of the time!

Is there anything cuter than a little boy in overalls?!

Henry smiles and laughs all the time, but it's really hard to catch them on film because he instantly becomes so fascinated with the camera. Here's a great one of him and Auntie Kelsie on Thanksgiving -- I think he just loves his Auntie Kelsie so much :)

Neighs and Nibbles

2011-11-03T10:21:00.000-07:00

Henry, aka Salmon Sashimi, all dressed up for Halloween. He was a bit like a dog chasing his tail with the pillow on his back, but he was definitely interested in all the activity going on around him. And he was definitely interested in the shiny candy wrappers that big sister was so focused on. (No, we didn't let him try any...but we thought about it!)

Madelyn, aka Star Song of the My Little Ponies. I've decided that I will totally indulge this toy obsession of hers because it's fancy hair and pretty accessories attached to ponies as opposed to busty, long-limbed, tip-toeing humans. She'll want to play with Barbies eventually, I'm sure, but I'm going to keep these ponies around as long as I can.

Hope you all had a fun Halloween! We were super excited to get a steady bunch of trick-or-treaters this year after years of no kids. I think that's a great sign for our little neighborhood, and we had a blast trick-or-treating at our neighbors'. One older couple with no kids even had special treats just for Maddie and Henry which totally made me think of one of my neighbors growing up who did exactly the same thing for me and my siblings every year. I am feeling more and more invested in our little community here and am looking for ways to serve our neighbors and bring us together. Any ideas or things that work for you?

Presence

2011-10-10T14:35:00.000-07:00

Ok, bear with me here for a moment, 'cause things are gonna get a wee bit cheesy...

Story #1: You remember that movie Win a Date With Tad Hamilton, right? Umm, of course you do. You won't admit it in public, but I know you've seen it and I know you found it witty and charming...I won't tell a soul. There' s a part in the movie where the boy who's in love with the girl (can't remember their names...I didn't say it was my favorite movie) pours his broken heart out to the female bartender (who's also a childhood friend) because the girl has chosen the handsome celebrity Tad Hamilton over him. The bartender listens but then confesses to the boy that she's been in love with him since they were kids and frames it like this: "You're my Tad Hamilton. Everybody is Tad Hamilton to someone."

Story #2: There's a blog I follow called Joy the Baker. You should absolutely follow it too. Joy is the most adorable gal who can make a mean cookie and take a gorgeous photo but is also vulnerable and sweet and makes you feel like you're her best friend. She just turned 30 and lives by herself in LA and seems to genuinely enjoy her life. Nevertheless, she writes with an air of longing for a life she hopes to have one day: husband, babies, etc. She included a photo in her most recent post of a friend cooking in her kitchen holding her baby with her toddler playing on the kitchen floor at her feet. She commented on how sweet it is that the little boy is playing so close to his mama and specifically said that she hopes to have kiddos to fill her kitchen one day.

It occurred to me that I am Joy's Tad Hamilton.

I look around my house most days and this is what I see: toys stacked and packed into every corner, piles of laundry waiting to be folded, dried spit-up in overlooked places that I keep forgetting to wipe clean. I wear yoga pants and no make-up most days, I am exhausted all the time, and my husband and I have been trying to get out to a certain restaurant for four years with no success. Tantrums, whining, crying, vomit...sleep, wake, repeat.

But. Amidst the chaos, there's a gorgeous baby in my arms and a beautiful girl playing at my feet. My house is filled with toothy smiles and rippling laughter. I get to witness the wonder of new discoveries and soothe the pain of hurt fingers or hurt hearts. I host regular living room dance parties, know all of the best parks in Portland, and breathe in baby sweetness as little Henry falls asleep in my arms at least twice a day. Snuggles, kisses, adventures, joy...sleep, wake, repeat.

Believe me, there are plenty of "Tad Hamiltons" in my life. The "green-eyed monster," as my friend Took calls it, rears his ugly head all too often when I hear stories about traveling or see women dressed super stylishly or learn about major career achievements. I am embarrassed that I often choose to focus on what is missing from my life rather than what is so abundantly present, but I can honestly say that not a day goes by that I don't feel overwhelmingly blessed to be Madelyn and Henry's mommy.

Today, this moment, I am my own Tad Hamilton.

Henry showing off his four teeth and his ultra-contagious grin. He turned 9 months old on October 7 which means we have now known him longer on this side of the womb than on the other. Yay for us!

Daddy's and Henry's new favorite game. Given how busy this boy is and how fearless he seems to be, we're starting his ER fund now...

One more good shot of Daddy and Madelyn around the fire. It's also a good shot of our backyard with all of the work that Kurt did last summer. He built the fence and salvaged all of the slate for the patio off the slopes of Mt. Hood. It's become a nice little oasis for us, and we're grateful to have it.

September

2011-09-25T13:42:00.000-07:00

Boy am I feeling guilty. This is nothing new, actually, as "Guilt" is pretty much my default emotion, especially since becoming a mother. It's problematic. I'm working on it...but then I start feeling guilty about feeling guilty. It'll be a life-long process. But lately, the guilt-du-jour is not posting enough pictures and stories on this here blog. When Madelyn was a baby, I think I posted at least once a week, even if it was just one photo. Every little coo and expression was documented and shared. Poor Henry. We're taking lots of photos (albeit less than the first time around), but getting around to organizing them or posting them or commenting on them is so, so much harder this time around. Again, going from one to two is most certainly not a linear increase in work load: it's exponential. I try to remind myself that my kids would rather I live life with them than simply document it, so there you go. We have been living large, folks.

Certainly the biggest and most important event was my sister's wedding to our new brother-in-law, Ben. Wowza, what a soiree! If they ever tire of their current careers, my sister and mom can most definitely start a thriving wedding planning business. This wedding was absolutely gorgeous, and no detail went unaddressed. It was stylish and warm and intimate and FUN, and we pretty much celebrated and partied for four straight days. Kelsie was simply stunning...radiant. She and Ben were cool as cucumbers and looked so happy. We all had such a good time! Well, 3 of us did...poor Henry is 0-2 for weddings in his short life and, just like Auntie Kari's wedding, he was not feeling well that day. Thank God for Baba and Mimi who held him and walked (endlessly) with him and ultimately missed dinner so they could just take him home and put him to bed. They were saints that whole weekend, actually, and spent so much time caring for our kids so we could fully participate in all of the festivities (ahem, bachelor and bachelorette parties). I am so grateful to have two sets of grandparents who are so generous with their babysitting time -- what a blessing. The original plan was for Madelyn to go home with Baba and Mimi, too, but she was having so much fun and there were lots of other kids staying, so we decided last minute to let her stay. Oh my goodness, we are so glad we did. She literally danced from the first song to the last song. (With Aaron, the husband of one of Kelsie's bridesmaids, on whom she developed quite a crush. She later explained that it was because he copied all of her dance moves. True story.) The date of their wedding, 09/10/11, also happened to be Madelyn's 4th birthday. Kelsie and Ben were very sweet and thoughtful and had a Hello Kitty birthday cake for her and had everyone sing Happy Birthday to her. A few family members and friends brought her presents, there was bubblegum, and given that she was their Flower Girl, she wore a fancy dress. I suppose it only makes sense, then, that when we all finally collapsed -- exhausted -- into our car at 10:30 and started to drive home, Madelyn exclaimed with genuine wonder "Wow! I can't believe so many people came to my birthday party!"

So. Good, good times. There are photos. Amazing, gorgeous, perfectly lit photos, but so far, those are only on facebook. As soon as I can, I'll post a few.

Our girl is now 4 full years old. She cracks jokes and crosses her long legs when she sits and is currently eating my cupboards bare. Pink and blue have joined purple as her favorite colors, and she has developed an obsession with My Little Ponies worthy of the 1980's (why didn't I save all of mine?!!). She is fiercely independent, but every now and then if we're patient, her lanky body melts into us and we are reassured that she is still our little girl for a bit longer.

She learned how to ride a two-wheel pedal bike while we were in Sunriver this summer, so we got her her own big-girl bike for her birthday. For the most part, she's got it down, but we're still working on starting and stopping on her own (and I think we're learning that she and Kurt do much better in the teacher/student dynamic than she and I do).

Henry Finn is now 8 months old and has solidified himself as Monkey #2. He's an ATV crawler in that he'll just crawl over, under, or through whatever happens to be in his path. His daycare providers tell us that he crawls the same obstacle course every morning when he gets there that always involves taking the path of most resistance. He is especially fond of tunnels, and we find him tucked into the tiniest, most random places. He has recently learned how to pull himself up to a standing position, whether on us, on the coffee table, or in his crib. Consequently, he's had a hard time falling asleep these last few days because he's so fascinated with peering out over the crib and seeing what's going on. He's pretty proud of himself, and so are we! Henry gives the best kisses, too. Big, open-mouthed, drooly smooches that can last for several seconds. And he makes this little affectionate "ahhh" sound along with the kiss that just melts our hearts.

Goodness, what else? We went to the beach the weekend after Kelsie and Ben's wedding with my parents just to relax and wind down. It was Henry's first time to the ocean. It rained the entire time, so you know...we set some realistic standards for his time at the coast. But the Oregon coast is always beautiful and restorative, even in the rain, and we proved ourselves as natives:

Madelyn's first day of school. She has her same teacher and classroom as last year, so she's very excited.

I really failed in the garden department this year. The sun and heat were poky like they were last year, and I just didn't put forth enough effort to compensate. I was so looking forward to our big tomatoes, and they all got blossom end rot. Major bummer. But our Sungolds and our cucumbers did pretty well. Madelyn was really into picking them, and one night she suggested making a tomato and cucumber salad for dinner. So we did.

Backyard fire pitting is always a good idea. Now that the weather has cooled down, we are thoroughly enjoying ours. Madelyn roasts her marshmallow and then sits in her camp chair contemplating the fire like an old soul. We all go to bed (and wake up) smelling like a campfire which is just fine with me.

Packed This Month Full

2011-08-31T21:36:00.000-07:00

What happened to August? Good grief, we've packed our calendar with all kinds of fun stuff this month (there has been a fair amount of puke as well, but I'll spare you those details). Lots of bike riding, lots of frozen yogurt, lots of fresh fruits and veggies, recently lots of grilling (new grill!), lots of army crawling and tooth cutting, lots of hula-hooping, and our annual trip to Sunriver with our friends. Good times. Good times. And we've got a lot more fun stuff coming up soon 'cause Kelsie and Ben are gettin' hitched in ten days! Which is why this is all I have time to write right now, so these few (adorable) photos are going to have to suffice.

Oh Be Careful Little Nose What You Smell

2011-07-28T13:25:00.000-07:00

Since Maddie started preschool back in September, she comes home about twice a month with a new song she has learned. She goes to a Christian school, so they are typically Bible songs or prayers -- often ones that I remember singing in Sunday school when I was a little girl. One such song goes like this: "Oh be careful little eyes what you see/ Oh be careful little eyes what you see/ For the Father up above is looking down with love/ Oh be careful little eyes what you see." It's meant to teach children to resist things that might lead them into sin, and it continues with four more verses covering all five senses. Certainly, one can readily see how the eyes, ears, mouth, and hands can lead one into temptation...but the nose? Kurt and I laugh and laugh when we hear our little girl earnestly singing "Oh be careful little nose what you smell..." as though at any moment she'll catch a whiff of something sent straight from Satan. Kurt's theory is that perhaps it's an early "Say No To Drugs" campaign...i.e. snort flowers not crack.

Now, I put my foot in my mouth all the time...but not exactly like this :) I think he's training to be a yogi. He's a Portland boy after all.

Mommy sandwich!

Madelyn diving into a cake pop made for Auntie Kelsie's bridal shower. Yum!

Kurt and me at The Allison for our 8th anniversary. We just went for breakfast, but someday (you know...in five or six years!) maybe we'll actually stay the night.

Lemon buttermilk pancakes with strawberry and raspberry compote. Yes we did.

This series of photos is called "Like Son Like Father." Henry has great facial expressions, and we all like to try to copy him (remember Maddie's "gangsta baby" imitation?).

Imagination at Work

2011-07-17T20:37:00.000-07:00

This series of photos could also be named "Signs." I love walking around my house and discovering little signs that children not only live here but are imagining here. I never quite know the full story, but I kind of like it that way...makes me get to use my imagination too :)

What Would You Do...

2011-07-09T20:50:00.000-07:00

...for a peaceful evening and a good night's sleep? Would you beg and plead with your preschooler, thus confirming once and for all that she is, in fact, the boss of the household? Would you begin using questionable discipline techniques that you swore you'd never use? Would you bribe said child with a bowl full of processed sugar for each morning that she goes to bed without a fight?

Yes, yes, and sadly, yes.

Our Madelyn is a vivacious child with a fabulously imaginative mind and an insatiable curiosity. She giggles easily and has the best facial expressions. She has a kind, inclusive heart and loves to be a helper. The majority of the time, she is flexible and compliant and polite such that I start to think I must be a pretty darn good Mommy to have produced such a wonderful kid.

Then, inevitably, bedtime rolls around. I've said it before, and here it is again: anyone who doesn't believe in a carnal nature needs to spend some time with small children. No matter how positive and euphoric the day, bedtime arrives and our girl morphs into an impulsive, crazed, wild thing whose limbs and vocal chords seem to be functioning in total separation from her brain. She tears through the house and cackles and bounces incessantly with the energy of a possessed being. Once we finally manage to wrangle and rope her into her bed -- patience completely depleted -- we read stories, say prayers and close her door for the night with a sigh of relief.

And for the last year or so, that's when the fun really begins. With her spirited personality comes a frighteningly strong will. If she doesn't want to stay in her room, she's not going to stay in her room, no matter how exhausted she is or how awful things get between us. We have tried absolutely everything just shy of locking her in her room and the only reason we haven't tried that is that she would kick the door so hard it would likely crack (it's an old house after all). She can be motivated by incentives, but those incentives work for three, four weeks at best before they lose their novelty and the mischief becomes more appealing once again. Currently, she earns a (small) bowl of "treat cereal," typically something with fake marshmallows in it, for every night that she doesn't come out of her room. This kills me, folks. I am a huge proponent of healthy eating and have worked so hard since the day she was born pumping her body full of whole grains, raw veggies, and fruits in all colors of the rainbow. Watching her inhale a bowl of processed sugar first thing in the morning literally makes me cringe...but it is most certainly worth a peaceful evening with our precious daughter and a public admission that parenting is the most humbling, word-eating, prayer-inducing job ever.

Now. Make me feel better: what are you doing with your kids that you swore you'd never do?

America the Beautiful

2011-07-04T14:16:00.000-07:00

Every summer (typically in June) we visit the rose garden at Washington Park for a picnic and some flower frolicking. This year, we combined our visit with our friends, the Smoots, and the 4th of July; what better way to celebrate the official birth of America the Beautiful than amidst some of this country's most gorgeous scenery? For all of this country's faults (and there are many...and I think it's important to acknowledge them and continue addressing them), I am so grateful to live here with the freedom and pursuit of prosperity that our government affords.

Nearly six years ago, Took and I were just a couple of social workers with a common passion for children, fancy bags, and Jesus. Two husbands and six children later, our respective families are finally complete and we can take a group photo without knowing that it will no longer be accurate within a year :)

Maddie looks like Snoopy in this photo -- laughing with her head tipped back as far as it will go.

Sitting by the "Queen Jan" plaque -- an annual tradition.

Cutest Boy Ever

2011-06-30T21:38:00.000-07:00

This boy continues to win our hearts over and over again. Look at those big eyes and that darling little expression! We call this "periscoping." Henry is so alert and curious about his environment these days that some nights he's just too busy to fall asleep. We go in to check on him and this is what we see: little Henry craning his neck as far as his little arms will let him, peering over the edge of the crib. So stinkin' cute. We even forgive him for his middle of the night periscoping because it's so hilarious to see his small head popping up and down in the dead of the night.

Day to Day

2011-06-12T12:31:00.000-07:00

Madelyn's sense of fashion lately is, well, fearless. She lays her clothes out for each day the night before and proudly gets dressed all by herself without even having to be asked each morning. Only occasionally do I intervene with some matching help (you know, church, preschool, etc.) because I find it truly inspiring to see what she chooses to clothe herself on a day to day basis.

Say what?!

Henry's first bite of solid food. He has been fascinated with watching us eat lately and reaches out to grab our forks, plates, sandwiches, fruit, etc. He gobbled up a little bowl of rice cereal and seemed to really like it...and then barfed the whole thing up about two hours later. Hmm. Not sure what to make of that, but I guess we'll try again in another couple of weeks.

New sand box! Kurt built a great little sandbox for the kids in our backyard, and Maddie christened it yesterday afternoon. Kurt found real beach sand to put in it, too, so it's soft and fine and lovely, just like being at the beach. Now if we could just figure out how to fall asleep to the ocean waves...

Captain Chin to the rescue!!!

And finally a couple of great videos for you. Henry loves his Mommy and Daddy but he LOVES his sister as you can see :)

Brad and Kari Sittin' In A Tree...

2011-06-10T14:11:00.000-07:00

...K-I-S-S-I-N-G!

Which you're allowed to do as much as you want on your wedding day! Kurt's beautiful sister, Kari, and her fabulous fiance, Brad, got married a few Saturdays ago on May 21st, and we were absolutely delighted to be a part of their special celebration. The weather held, the church was gorgeous, and the bride and groom were radiant. Madelyn had the honor of being their flower girl, and she had a great time! We spent the week before the wedding practicing walking down the aisle in our house -- we created an "aisle" with the chairs in our living room, and she walked in between them scattering tea bags from her Easter basket while I "oohed" and "aahed" and tried to prepare her for the inevitable wedding-guest paparazzi. Ultimately, she did a great job. She got a little shy just as it was time to walk down the aisle, but Cousin Leslie (Maid of Honor) was there to save the day, and the two pretty attendants walked down the aisle together. It was a lovely day, and we are just thrilled for both Kari and Brad. Welcome to the family, Brad! You and I can be "out-laws" together :)

Brad's little nephew, LJ. Don't mess with him.

Henry chillin' in his favorite place during the rehearsal.

Madelyn only placed the rose petals this carefully during the rehearsal. During the actual wedding ceremony, she was too shy to scatter the petals until she could see that everyone's eyes were closed during the prayer; then she threw fistfuls at Brad and Kari's feet :)

Love this shot of Maddie and her Mimi!

We had to take a photo, because we might never again see Madelyn sit this still.

Love our expressive children!!

Henry is fascinated with our faces lately and is always reaching out to touch us (or grab fistfuls of Madelyn's hair...you can imagine the reaction that gets).

Kari and her dad before the ceremony -- so happy!

Henry's cute little outfit. He didn't make much of an appearance that day because he was sick :( My fabulous aunt, Jenny, and cousin, Sydney, jumped in at the last minute to stay with him at our house so he could nap -- so thankful for them! Kurt and I actually got to enjoy the ceremony and the reception because of them. Thank God for loving family!

Some princess-dress twirling. Fabulous. Madelyn's dress was a miniature version of Kari's which was so special.

Peep toe shoes that necessitated Madelyn's first official pedicure at Nana's spa.

My rough-and-tumble girl somehow instinctively knew just how to walk in her fancy, swirly dress.

Love this photo! Kari was radiant with joy all day, and this photo perfectly captures that.

The beautiful couple. Brad's heritage is Scottish which he chose to honor with his very masculine, regal kilt. Super cool.

Cousin Leslie and Madelyn walking down the aisle. Madelyn has just spotted Papa, Nana, Kelsie and Ben in the pews. You can see Papa smiling at her on the far right -- so cute.

Kari and Brad had their first dance and then invited some of the wedding party to join them. Kurt went up to dance with Maddie but she was NOT going to budge. I mean, NOT going to budge.

Daddy telling Maddie how well she did and how proud of her he was.

Kari tossing her bouquet. Evidently Madelyn just saw it as another opportunity to do some twirling.

May Play

2011-05-28T21:44:00.001-07:00

Madelyn and Henry are about two weeks apart in these photos. If their clothes were swapped, I'm not sure even I could tell them apart.

Maddie has a bazzillion pairs of sunglasses, but what hip mom can say no to purple kids'-sized aviators? Not this one.

We had Henry dedicated to the Lord on Sunday May 8 at our church Mosaic. It also happened to be Mother's Day, which was pretty cool.

Feels like just last year we were up on that stage having Madelyn dedicated. Now look at those long legs of hers!

I will hold this little boy while he sleeps as long as I possibly can. Someday when I'm looking (up) at his grown up chiseled man face, I will treasure these memories.

Madelyn showing off her freshly dilated pupils. We've had some concerns about her vision, so she and I visited a pediatric ophthalmologist the other morning. I cannot overstate how proud I am of how she did. It was a long appointment and there were a lot of demands on her sitting abilities. But she followed every direction and took three rounds of stinging eye drops like a champ without crying or protesting (although there were some pretty rad facial expressions). Ultimately, she is slightly near sighted, but the doctor doesn't recommend prescription lenses at this time. Madelyn was devastated by this news. She had her heart set on a darling little pair of purple Betsy Johnson frames...that cost three times as much as my current frames. She has solid taste, that's for sure. Dodged that bullet for now :)

Henry the Plus Sign

2011-05-05T21:39:00.000-07:00

One year ago today we found out that Henry Finn would be joining our family. Of course, we didn't know at that time that he was Henry Finn -- he was just a bold little plus sign on a stick. But we were overjoyed nonetheless, and we celebrated with tacos, chips, and guacamole, as we did tonight it being Cinco de Mayo and all. Huck will be four months old this Saturday, and he is absolutely delightful. I think if someone could just hand me a four month old, I could entertain the idea of having a third child. I never want to be pregnant again, and even though newborns are tiny and miraculous, the sleep deprivation is not at all fun. But four months old is fabulous. Henry is smiley and giggly and content nearly all day long. He fusses when he's hungry or tired and then promptly eats and falls asleep, and he's doing such a good job learning to fall asleep on his own -- not an easy skill to learn as all of you parents know. He has also discovered that his sister is an excellent source of entertainment. Kurt and I had a sign of things to come the other night at dinner when Madelyn was acting up and was about to be sent to a time out. I looked over at Henry who was glued to his sister, smiling from ear to ear, and realized that she was continuing the behavior because it was getting a reaction from her brother. Four months old and he's already egging his sister on to get her in trouble :)

Finally a real live doll to put her her doll stroller! I'm pretty sure this presents some serious safety issues, but she just took him for a short spin around the house and we got a good laugh out of it.

Spring At Last

2011-04-24T19:44:00.000-07:00

This winter has been tough, folks. We Portlanders didn't get nearly our necessary fill of sun, heat, and sweat last summer (La Nina, I'm told), so our reserves for surviving the grey, sloshy winter (that was even greyer and sloshier than normal, statistically) were depleted, oh, around the first week of January. Thankfully for us, January 7 brought a glorious ray of sunshine just for our little family in the form of ten tiny fingers and ten tiny toes. Henry Finn has single handedly sustained us through these dreary weeks, but that's a lot of pressure for a little guy. He looks overwhelmed, don't you think?

Mercifully, spring is slowly, cautiously, perhaps even coyly emerging. From the first crocus several weeks ago to the dogwoods that are about to pop, our landscape is electric with chartreuse and saffron and coral. I felt actual warmth on my shoulders last Saturday and even got the slightest hint of color on my cheeks. So lovely.

FPA. Future Pears of America.

We have another self-soother! Yay for thumb sucking! (We'll see if I'm this excited about it when he's 6 and we can't just put his thumb in an envelope and mail it to the Thumb Fairy.)

Such beautiful eyes.

Easter Sunday

Why Our Kids Have Us Wrapped Around Their Little Fingers

2011-04-02T21:14:00.000-07:00

Rambly Thoughts

2011-03-18T19:25:00.000-07:00

There's no real theme to this post or major reason for writing...just a few rambling thoughts on a Thursday afternoon. Maddie is at preschool (most likely preventing her classmates from napping right about now :) and Henry is asleep on my chest making little gurgly noises. The house is unusually quiet. Thursdays are a nice day for me because I can devote all of my time and energy to little Henry. Of course I love having both of my kiddos with me, and Madelyn is genuinely entertaining company. But when Madelyn was a baby, she got 100% of my undivided attention; it's only fair that Henry gets one day of it. I can spend as much time as I want staring at him and singing to him and responding to his little coo's. He has gotten so delightfully interactive in the last week or two. He smiles anytime someone smiles at him, and he loves to be on his back waving his arms around and kicking his feet when you talk to him. His hands are still mostly clenched in tiny fists, and it's hilarious to see him become truly surprised to see one hanging out above his head. Sometimes he even hits himself in the face with one, so I don't think he yet knows that they are actually attached to his body :) He's a pretty strong little guy and also loves to "stand" on my lap. He straightens his legs and holds his head up as high as he can and looks so proud of himself (eyebrows raised with big, wide eyes and a huge smile -- seriously, dangerous levels of cute).

We're settling into a bit of a routine around here. It's getting easier and easier to get out and about with both kids, and we've had some fun adventures in the last couple of weeks (ask Maddie about KidZone sometime...best $7 ever spent on a drizzly Monday morning). I'm starting to feel a bit more at home in my body. I haven't yet made it back to the gym, but I'm hoping to do that this weekend. I'm excited to feel those exercise endorphins again and sore muscles instead of round ligament pain. I'm so thankful that this time around, I recovered so much faster. Some days I forget that I had major abdominal surgery just 10 weeks ago. And breastfeeding has also turned out to be a breeze this time around, so that's even better.

Maddie is in a fun stage right now where she wants to be "twins" with everyone. We'll both be eating yogurt for a snack, and she'll say "Hey Mommy! We're both eating yogurt! We're twins!" Or "Daddy, you're wearing Nike's and I'm wearing Nike's. We're twins!" She is constantly looking for similarities between herself and others, and it occurred to me today that the whole world would be a lot better off if we would follow suit.

Hmm, what else? My friend Molly called Henry "Huckleberry" awhile back, and I like it. I think I'm going to run with it as a perfectly complimentary nick-name to Madelyn's "Maddiecakes." In fact, I think I'll create a recipe this summer for Huckleberry Maddicakes. Mmm, my mouth is watering already...

Ok, I'm going to shut the computer now, close my eyes, and just listen to my son breathe.

Milk Drunk

2011-03-12T13:06:00.001-08:00

Ok, so first off, I know we need to replace the picture at the heading of our blog. On my (very long) list of things to do.

Just wanted to share a little video with you. I mentioned before that I love babies' milk drunk faces, and we finally got Henry's captured on camera. So, so great. Doesn't he have the sweetest face ever?!

Wanted: Extra Wife

2011-02-26T10:40:00.000-08:00

Could it be that the polygamists have it figured out after all? Never would've thought so, but ever since a second child joined our family I've been thinking that one wife just isn't cutting it. I suppose if we lived in filth or if I plopped the kids in front of the TV all day it wouldn't be so challenging. But keeping up with the dishes and the cooking and the laundry and the errands while providing stimulating activities and nurturing connections for my children is just plain exhausting. Something always gives, and because I don't want my kids to feel abandoned or the bathroom to grow mold, what "gives" is typically my mental and/or emotional sanity.

True, I am not at all alone in my mommy-exhaustion. Polygamy isn't exactly the social norm (which, all things considered, is a good thing), so women in this country have been running their households solo for decades...as is dictated by the American Dream of Total Independence, right? I have done zero research on this topic and can't quote any legitimate statistics or facts, but it just seems to me that this arrangement isn't working out so well. Shutting ourselves into our single-family houses in the name of privacy and independence where we try to do everything ourselves is overwhelming and stressful at best. In my opinion, the rationale from previous generations that "we did it; therefore so can/should you" is just plain silly. I'd like a little help! And I'd like to offer a little help to my friends who seem to be just as frustrated and perplexed as I am with the current status quo.

I joke that I'd like to start a commune, but in truth, I'm not really joking. I would love to buy a big piece of land somewhere and invite family members and friends to build houses on it so we could all live in close proximity. I'm still American enough to want my own little house, but with all of us so close together we could actually share life's many and varied responsibilities. I could provide regular childcare for my friends' kids and they could provide it for mine. We could cook for each other and clean for each other so if one of us has a particularly hard week (or a new baby!), those would be two less tasks to have to manage. We could share a garden and tools and last minute ingredients. Perhaps most fabulously, we could provide daily company for each other without having to get in a car.

Anyway, I'll get off my soapbox now. Sadly, I don't think a commune is anywhere in my near future. But if any of you have some suggestions for creating this type of community without buying a piece of land and building houses, let me know. I'm open to suggestions!

And now, if any of you have actually read this far, I'll treat you to some recent photos of our darling kids. I'm hoping you'll think they're so cute you'll want to join our commune :)

The requisite "Little Brother" "Big Sister" t-shirt shot. Good thing we took it when we did because our robust little 7-week-old no longer fits in his newborn clothes!

During dinner one night, Maddie spontaneously busted out the above expression. We were totally confused until she matter-of-factly informed us that she was doing an impression of Henry. At which point we nearly wet ourselves laughing.

!!!! I want to eat him, he's so cute.

You'll have to enlarge this shot to really see, but this is a little photo of my dad when he was a baby. Remind you of any other little infant you know? Wild, huh?

At 7 weeks, we are seeing more and more smiles from sweet Henry.

I walked into the living room one morning to find that George had joined Henry for a swing. Evidently someone thought they both needed some company :)

Snow day!! We were outside for a brisk walk and some snow angels by 7:50 that morning, knowing that here in "the valley," snow never sticks around for long.

Sipping hot cocoa on a recent snow day...'cause that's just what you do when it's cold and snowy outside!

Four generations of Olmsted men: Grandpa O., Baba, Kurt, and Henry Finn.

And three and a half years ago, here were four generations of women: my late Gramma J, Nana, me, and tiny Madelyn Grace (was she ever really this small?!!! Amazing how your firstborn becomes HUGE overnight as soon as your second kiddo is born...).

31 Days

2011-02-07T13:34:00.001-08:00

Our tiny Huck Finn is one month old today. Let me tell you, friends: I feel a sense of genuine satisfaction and pride that we have kept two children alive and relatively happy for one whole month. Man oh man... I truly could not have imagined just how challenging and exhausting it is to parent more than one child. It has been quite a month, but just look at his precious little face. If ever there was a worthy enough reason for total life disruption, that face would be it. We couldn't be more grateful or joyful.

Henry is asleep on my chest as I type this post. I thought about putting him down in his crib to nap so I could get a few things done, but I remembered just how fast those chest-snuggling days passed with Madelyn so alas...emptying the dishwasher and organizing the medicine cabinet can wait. Snuggling with a newborn -- my newborn -- is worth a messy house. Pure bliss, in fact.

A few observations thus far:

-Boys are so noisy! Madelyn was a pretty quiet, chill little baby, but Henry grunts and squeaks and chirps and otherwise comments on his experiences constantly. I wear earplugs at night because he's so loud!

-I'm pretty sure he has my toes, poor kid.

-Henry is making sure that, as the second child, he doesn't go unnoticed or forgotten. This little baby wants to be held all the time. And I do mean all the time! Let's just say that we're not exactly discouraging him :) Thank God for the Moby wrap or Madelyn would never eat lunch and I would never pee.

-Our little man is already buttering up his dad for a motorcycle. Kurt and I take a "zone defense" to the nighttime shift: he's on from 9pm to 2am and I'm on from 2am to 7am. The last few nights, Henry has slept over four hours on Kurt's shift but still wakes up every 2-3 hours on my shift, little stinker!

-I forgot how awesome babies' milk-drunk faces are!

-Everyone was right: watching Madelyn's and Henry's relationship begin to develop even at this early stage is just fantastic. Nothing in my life thus far has brought me more joy than seeing her try to gently comfort him when she thinks no one is watching and him calm to her voice. God willing, they will have each other for a long, long time.

Henry Finn

2011-01-23T14:51:00.000-08:00

Our sweet boy, Henry Finn, made his way into this world Friday January 7, 2011 at 3:03 p.m. He weighed 8lb. 7oz. and was 21in. long. He is cute. Really cute, and we fell immediately in love with him upon his first little cry and our first glimpse of his sweet little face.

I cannot express what a positive experience his birth was for Kurt and me. I have written about Madelyn's birth and what a bittersweet day that was for us. Despite the very planned, surgical nature of a scheduled Cesarean, Henry's birth felt so natural, joyous, and redemptive for us both. We loved our doctors; we loved our nurses; we loved their push toward immediate bonding with our baby despite still being in the OR. The overall stay in the hospital was like being in a hotel -- we were genuinely disappointed to have to leave :) Someday, I'll write his birth story in greater detail, but given that I started this post nearly two weeks ago and I'm just getting around to actually posting it demonstrates just how busy we've been keeping two children alive (you all warned us just how hard the leap from one to two is... I didn't fully believe you. I stand corrected.)

Until I can write more, I wanted to at least share some treasured photos with you. Hopefully they will provide a glimpse of this new chapter of our lives and just how immeasurably we have, once again, been blessed.

(Also, given that individually written thank-you's will likely take me weeks to get to, I need to say an inadequate but heartfelt THANK YOU to so many of you who have showered us with prayers, congratulations, meals, gifts, visits, and encouragement. We are so, so grateful and would not be surviving these sleep-deprived days if it wasn't for you.)

Our Trio Becomes a Quartet

2011-01-05T18:52:00.001-08:00

Well, this will very likely be the last post as a family of three, and while I feel increasing amounts of trepidation as the time gets closer, I COULD NOT be more ready to not be pregnant or more EXCITED to meet our little boy. This has been an incredibly challenging nine months for me (and therefore for Kurt and Madelyn as well). I am not good at being pregnant. Or bringing babies into this world, it seems. For someone who likes to be perfect at everything she tries, this does not sit well with me. I have felt so much anxiety and fear this whole pregnancy about how Henry's birth would go and ways I could control it and make it better that there hasn't been room in my heart to just be grateful for his tiny existence and excited to meet him and snuggle him. As my wise sister lovingly but bluntly pointed out, that's just not fair to him -- he deserves to enter this world to as much elated anticipation as his sister did. So that's what I've been focusing on these last few days, and thanks to many of your faithful prayers, I have made as much peace as there's going to be with how Henry will enter this world and am now simply buzzing with excitement that I get to meet him in just over one day.

Nevertheless, as all of you moms-of-two-or-more know, it's an emotionally complicated thing to welcome a second child into your family. I always find it fascinating and baffling when two seemingly mutually exclusive emotions exist in equal strength simultaneously, and this situation is no different. I am 100% thrilled to welcome a second child into our family and create a little sibling set, but I am also 100% terrified at how this child's presence will change the warm, familiar, loving little dynamic that is Mommy, Daddy, and Maddie. I confess that while I am absolutely certain that I already love little Henry, my loyalty is still with Madelyn; most of my fears about the weeks immediately following his birth involve making sure her emotional needs continue to be met. And yet everyone tells me that a mother's heart multiplies -- it never divides. I believe you. You are a wise lot of women. I look forward to laughing at myself and eating a hearty dose of my own words.

So, it is with a tumultuous brew of anticipation, love, fear, confidence, trust, excitement, and relief that I embark on this next chapter of our family's life. I can't wait to meet our little boy, and I can't wait to introduce him to all of you. I'm sure Kurt will keep you all well informed, as he did with Madelyn's birth, in the next few days. Thanks, as always, for joining us on our unfolding journey...

December 2010

2010-12-31T22:59:00.000-08:00

So this has been a really odd season for us this year. I have felt increasing degrees of cruddy and decreasing degrees of energy for weeks now and just didn't have the gusto to orchestrate all of our typical holiday festivities like I normally do. Plus I've pretty much been a grouch, or a grinch would be more appropriate I guess. Here's the thing: I LOVE children and I LOVE being a mom. But I really despise all that it takes to get children on this side of the womb. And that's all the complaining I'll make you endure -- at least for now. But if any of you wants to take Kurt out and buy him a drink, he more than deserves it.

Nevertheless, we managed to have a pretty good December, no small thanks to our families and dear friends. Here's a taste of some of the highlights:

Us in front of the Christmas tree that Madelyn chose.

Maddie and Max -- BUDDIES.

Our secret is out: we pretty much get trees at Lee Farms because they make the BEST pumpkin donuts ever.

Maddie started asking to make and decorate gingerbread cookies before Thanksgiving. One morning, I figured she had waited long enough, so we abandoned everything else on our list and made some cookies. We had a great time, and they were pretty darn tasty.

We are totally pro-Santa in our home and love getting caught up in the full spectrum of the magic of Christmas, but we have worked really hard to emphasize to Madelyn that Christmas is first and foremost about the birth of Jesus. Nana made us the beautiful Advent Calendar you see behind her, and she has genuinely loved hanging each little character in its place building up to Baby Jesus. On Christmas morning, she came running into our room shouting "It's Christmas! I get to put the Baby Jesus on the Advent Calendar!" With all the mistakes we've made as parents thus far and all that we are sure to make in the future, this was a fairly proud moment for us :)

Checking out the evidence of Santa's visit.

Maddie wearing the little fingerless gloves that I knit for her -- so cute I think I might make some for myself!

Loving her new fingerpaints!

Our wish for each of you and the whole world in the coming year.

Maranatha

2010-12-24T21:09:00.000-08:00

I learned a new word at church on Sunday, which was particularly exciting because its definition has been -- and will continue to be -- my life's mantra. The word, Maranatha, is a Greek word meaning "O Lord, come." I don't know if I can even delineate or separate the number of times I utter those words on a daily basis. I think it's just become a general pleading of my heart that plays on a constant loop from day to day..."Come, Lord. Save us from ourselves. End our suffering. Return, Jesus. Come now, this day, this minute." Perhaps like many of you, I am acutely aware of and tuned into the extensive and never-ending pain and suffering that exists in this broken, sinful, not-what-it-was-intended-to-be world. For a small percentage of us, life is disproportionately easy and peaceful and joyful. For the vast majority, however, life is filled with hardship and fear and sorrow. It might be a 13-year-old girl in India who is raped multiple times each day because she's been sold by her family to a brothel or it might be the 40-year-old man sleeping in a sleeping bag under the Burnside bridge that I passed earlier this evening. I ache thinking about these people, and if I ache, I can only imagine how much their Creator aches and wants so desperately for them to feel whole and safe and cherished. Maranatha indeed.

Which is why Christmas is just so awesome: Christ came. It's so easy for Christmas to become routine because it's this major holiday that we celebrate every year and it's become so tragically secularized, but the reality is -- whether you acknowledge it or not -- December 25th is celebrated because God answered humanity's cry to enter into creation and save us from ourselves. And He did it in the most humble of ways, which is even more fabulous for those of us who are suckers for underdog stories. And upon His death, resurrection, and ascension some 30 years later, He promised that He would come again. Given the precedent He set with His first carnal entry, can you imagine what the sequel will be like? I love thinking about it because it fills me with such hope and confidence and relief. The world's suffering will end. It will end. Anyway, I could go on but I won't because it's getting late and there are still a few Christmas Eve-y things to do. Just wanted to share these few time-sensitive thoughts with you.

Merry, Merry Christmas and Maranatha...

A Very Belated Happy Grandparents' Day!

2010-11-25T20:29:00.000-08:00

So evidently there is such a thing as Grandparents' Day. It was officially back in September, but I did not become aware of its existence until this week through the course of a very random conversation. Obviously, it's a Hallmark holiday, and ordinarily I avoid putting too much emphasis on those if I even acknowledge them at all. If ever there was a holiday worth creating and honoring, however, it would be Grandparents' Day. So. Regardless of my obscenely late acknowledgment (because really, I'm three YEARS and two months late), I would like to take a bit of time to publicly honor and thank the four truly exceptional grandparents in our lives:

Papa (Kimberlee's dad): My dad was a wonderful father so it's no surprise that he is a wonderful grandpa, but man, what a joy it's been to see him delight in my own child and see her light up when he's around. There's not a request she could make of him that he wouldn't grant, even if that means playing Candyland or Princess Chutes and Ladders ten times consecutively. He is infinitely patient with and enthusiastic about the details that are important in her 3-year-old world, and it truly warms me to see that she feels so important in his eyes. He (and my mom) are incredibly generous in helping our young family stay afloat at this time in our lives, whether that is treating us to countless meals or showing up with new PJ's for Maddie when the ones she's been wearing only go down to her elbows and knees or coming to watch Maddie during the day so I can go to a doctor appointment. And Maddie knows that she can always wiggle a small treat out of her fellow candy-loving Papa -- which is just as it should be!

Nana (Kimberlee's mom): For nearly three years now, Nana has faithfully and sacrificially watched Madelyn at least one day per week while I go to work. I know she genuinely enjoys that alone time with her grand-daughter, but what a gift to me to peacefully know that my child is safe, nurtured, and doted upon by my own mom when I can't be with her. Madelyn eagerly anticipates "W-W-Wednesdays" when she knows she gets to be with Nana, and she literally squeals and does a little dance when she walks through the door. Because Maddie is so familiar with Nana and is so at ease in her presence, Nana occasionally takes some abuse from her (emotional and physical, I'm afraid to say). Nana's not a pushover, but she always responds lovingly and patiently and is quick to forgive and scoop Maddie right back up in her arms. She is lavish in her praise and affection, and Madelyn's small soul blooms a little bigger and brighter every time she is in her Nana's presence. And if you ever see Madelyn in a darling little outfit, it's almost always one that Nana has picked out for her :)

Baba (Kurt's dad): Madelyn loves to talk about how her Baba loves to tickle her and chase her. Indeed, Baba can be counted on to be very physical in his play with Madelyn which is so fantastic (and necessary!) for my active, rough-and-tumble little girl. He tirelessly chases her around their house while she laughs and screams, and I am always so grateful for the good night's sleep she gets when we leave their house! Baba is a whiz with the camera on his phone, and Madelyn is always his favorite subject. I love watching his face when he shows off pictures of his grand-daughter -- it humbles me to know that she brings him so much joy. Baba is a listener and an encourager to the core of his being, not just with Maddie but with Kurt and me as well. No matter how small or big the story, he is available and eager to hear it and offer his words of praise and encouragement -- such a gift!

Mimi (Kurt's mom): I'm pretty sure if Madelyn purposefully set our house on fire someday, Mimi could find something positive and redeeming about her behavior. She is a constant cheerleader for Madelyn, and Madelyn glows when her Mimi praises her and tells her how special she is (Mimi is also a constant cheerleader for Kurt and me -- what a gift to have a mother-in-law who has NEVER even hinted at anything negative about our parenting!!). Mimi makes herself available to come stay with Maddie every time we call and ask and acts like we are doing her the favor by giving her time with her "darlin'." She always has a little treasure for Maddie in her purse and thinks of every last little thing Maddie could need or want when we go visit their house. And when she's at our house, the poor woman doesn't ever get a chance to sit down because she is so patiently and willingly obliging Maddie in her requests to "come see this, Mimi!" or "play with me over here, Mimi!"

Suffice to say, all three of our lives have been blessed beyond what I am capable of describing by Papa, Nana, Baba, and Mimi. We thank God every day for each one of them and truly do not take for granted that they live close enough for us to have such close relationships with them. Madelyn talks about her grandparents constantly -- she has pretend phone calls with them; she tells us things that she wants to remember to tell them; and we don't even bother telling her that she gets to see them until the night before or she would be so excited that she would just want to get in the car right away. Each one of them is deliberate and intentional about their choice to be an involved grandparent, even though they make it look easy. Madelyn won't fully understand until she's older just how blessed she is to have such fabulous grandparents, but I know her little spirit feels it -- she would not be the amazing little girl she is without each one of her grandparents. And for that, our family collectively wishes a heartfelt Happy Grandparents' Day to our favorite Papa, Nana, Baba, and Mimi :)

Homemade

2010-11-07T14:20:00.000-08:00

I made this: (ok, God did, really, but 26 hours of labor ought to count for something)

And then I made this:

And then I put the two together:

Conversations with a Budding Jesus-Lover

2010-11-05T14:25:00.000-07:00

So, our beloved city, Portland, is nationally and perhaps internationally known for many things: gourmet food, organic living, dedication to environmentalism, gorgeous scenery, etc. We are proud of these characteristics and love living here for all of those reasons. We are also nationally and perhaps internationally known, however, for having the highest per capita sex industry of any city in the county. We are slightly less proud of this characteristic. Even the nicest of neighborhoods seem to have a strip club or an adult film shop within a stone's throw, and there are certain streets or parts of town where these institutions are literally lined up next to each other.

One of these such institutions is called the Sugar Shack and is located on a road that we now frequent given that it's the most direct route to Madelyn's preschool. It's painted black and white with captivating red trim and has female mannequins posed in the windows in all sorts of curious positions wearing what can only be described as "smut" -- seriously, live naked bodies would be significantly less offensive.

In the last week or so, Madelyn has not only taken notice of this establishment but has started asking questions about it. Our ever perceptive and curious daughter inherently knows that there is something different about this place, and this morning she finally asked me "What happens there, Mommy?"

So I decided to tell her.

"Well honey," I began. "That place is very sad. The people who work there and go there are not very respectful or nice to each other. They say inappropriate things and dance inappropriately and wear clothes that are not meant to be worn in front of strangers."

"Do they hit each other and slap each other?"

Answering all-too-truthfully, I said "Yes, honey, they probably do hit and slap each other there." (Yikes.)

Boy, she thought and thought about this new information. After a minute or two she said, "It's kind of like Ninevah, Mommy."

Now, for those of you who might not be super familiar with the Bible, Ninevah is the place where the prophet Jonah refused to go, even when God directly asked him. Ultimately, a big whale had to swallow him and carry him around for three days before spouting him back up on Ninevah's shore, and only then did he obey and deliver God's message of repentance and salvation to the lost people of Ninevah who were destroying themselves, each other, and their city with their sinful behavior. Veggietales made a movie out of this story some time ago that we have recently discovered, but I had no idea that Madelyn had so thoroughly and accurately absorbed it's message. (In the movie, the people of Ninevah don't exactly participate in promiscuous and leud sexual behavior, as they did in the Bible. They "slap" each other with old, stinky fish, hence Madelyn's question about whether or not the people at the Sugar Shack "hit and slap" each other. I find this connection to be particularly hilarious.)

"Yes, Madelyn, it's exactly like Ninevah," I went on. "And just like Ninevah, Jesus loves the people there just as much as He loves you and me. He wants them to be healthy and loving and kind, and we need to pray for them every time we drive by there. Do you think we can do that?"

"Mmm hmm," she replied. "Let's go there right now and pray for those people."

"Umm, we're just going to pray for them as we drive by, honey," as I imagined the line of questioning that would arise from actually setting foot in the Sugar Shack...

Anyway, 'twas a very enlightening morning for the both of us. I'm writing this down because I want to remember it, but I also want to give you all an accurate description of our conversation lest you spend some alone time with Madelyn in the near future and she tells you the 3-year-old version that leaves you scratching your head and seriously questioning our parenting :)

Ohio Guests and Halloween

2010-10-31T21:25:00.000-07:00

Our long-time friends, the Dekkers, came out for a visit and spent the last week with us. This was the first time we had seen their son, Will, since he was three months old and he is now 2 years old, so we all had so much fun. One day (the one day that didn't rain, that is) we drove out to Multnomah Falls for a little adventure. In all the years I've lived here, I've never visited Multnomah Falls in autumn, and it was absolutely gorgeous. The kids were impressed with the tall waterfall and all, but pretty much they just loved chasing each other round and round the various stone steps and ramps, squealing and screeching the whole time (oh wait, that was just our child...). Anyway, we had a great week and love that we get to continue adding fun memories with life-time friends!

Isn't our little ballerina so darling? Madelyn trick-or-treated at Mimi and Baba's and Nana and Papa's today as well as a few houses in Nana and Papa's neighborhood. Let's just say, she fully gets Halloween now and is a solid fan. She also had a great time handing out candy to the kids trick-or-treating at Nana and Papa's door and didn't even seem scared of the scary masks. All in all, a great day. And the weather was just beautiful -- crisp and temperate and dry, what do you know. And the trees in the Northwest are just gorgeous right now, so we are soaking up every beautiful moment of the season while it lasts.

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-16T14:33:00.000-07:00

We took our annual trip to the pumpkin patch out at Lee Farms today and had such a great time. Seriously, the way things have been going at our house lately, this was the best day I've had in about three weeks. We missed our friends, the Smoots, with whom we usually go, but they are on vacation so I think they're having plenty of fun. Love this time of year! And we're super grateful to have some gorgeous weather to actually enjoy the outdoors.

Arrr matey! This is Mr. Pirate Pumpkin that Maddie and Nana found for our front porch. Maddie is totally enamored with potato heads, so this seemed like a good fit!

And this is the Olmsted family -- all FOUR of us -- as represented in pumpkins. You can decide who is who :)

Pinkalicious 3rd Birthday!

2010-09-26T20:35:00.000-07:00

There are moments when I truly doubt that Madelyn is, indeed, genetically my child. You know...like when a plate of delicious food is put in front her and she lollygags and fidgets and fabricates any reason to get down from the table. I typically have to give her a 3-count for nearly every bite as though eating were some kind of punishment. Trust me. No one has had to give me a 3-count for bites of food for a very long time, if ever. I get down to BUSINESS when a plate of yummy food is put in front of me.

But then something inevitably happens that confirms our genetic connection, most recently her third birthday party. We kept things very low-key this year given my pregnancy and Kurt's impending trip to China and opted for a brief afternoon celebration at a local ice cream shop. I told Maddie that we were going to eat ice cream for her birthday this year, and she said "Yeah! For my pinkalicious birthday party!" Some of you might remember that we had a huge Purplicious birthday party for her last year given that that was (and is) her favorite color. Purple decorations, purple attire, purple food. I love a good theme, and I like to take it to the tiniest detail. I was willing to let a theme go for this year, but evidently, my daughter was not. She suggested a pinkalicious theme all on her own, and even when I tried to say that all we really needed was family and ice cream and a gift or two, she would smile and re-emphasize "At my pinkalicious birthday!" Ah well. She's my theme-loving daughter after all. (Interestingly, she has since told me that every birthday party from now until she turns eleven will be a color-licious birthday...greenalicious for next year, blualicious the year after, etc. all the way to whitealicious when she turns eleven. Now that would be taking a theme to a whole new level.)

(These last two photos are from Madelyn's actual birthday. Kurt left for China that day, so the best we could do was a pancake and egg breakfast with just the three of us. We stuck a candle in one of the pancakes and sang Happy Birthday and did our best to make her feel special. I think it worked out ok.)

Decisions

2010-09-12T21:02:00.001-07:00

Every pregnant woman reaches a point in her pregnancy where she is done. Just done. For most, that point is around 37 or 38 weeks -- the full 40 weeks if she is lucky. With Madelyn, I reached that point at about 34 weeks and then she ended up being eight excruciating days late. With Henry, I reached that point today. But Kimberlee! you say. You are not quite 23 weeks pregnant! Yes, I am quite aware of that fact. Rest assured, I am not wishing him out of my womb anytime soon. I want a nice, healthy, full-term baby and I am endlessly grateful that my kicking, somersaulting boy seems to be quite at home for now. I knew what I was getting myself into this second time around, but that still doesn't mean I have to like it. I am not a happy pregnant woman. I LOVE feeling my babies move around, and it's definitely empowering knowing that I'm literally sustaining life. There are other, ahem, physical benefits that are also quite lovely, but pretty much -- for me, anyway -- it's 9 months of nausea, random vomiting, light-headedness, fatigue, discomfort, and pain. This pregnancy has been much harder for me than my first one. Perhaps it really is harder, or perhaps I just know now how wonderful it is to be a Mommy, and this pregnancy business is simply a long, seemingly endless means to a joyful, so-much-better end.

Regardless, feeling "done" has started me thinking a lot lately about Henry's birth. I have some choices to make this time around in light of our experience with Madelyn's birth, and I am feeling very anxious about it, to say the least. Madelyn's birthday was simultaneously the most joyful and traumatic day of my life thus far. For certain, there are couples with far more painful and devastating birth stories. I don't wish to be superlative in any way, but I also just have to be honest about how sad we become remembering that day. In fact, I've never been able to share the story without crying, and it's been three years as of September 10 (birthday photos to come!).

The saddest thing for us is that neither Kurt nor I was present to hear Madelyn's first cry or see her enter the world or touch her brand new skin. I labored for over 24 hours through the whole night and the whole next day and was absolutely exhausted by the time it came time to push. I had gotten an epidural at one point, but it only really took to parts of my body and then totally wore off by pushing time. I pushed and pushed, but her little head was stuck sideways in my pelvis and wouldn't turn to make it through the birth canal. After four hours and fifteen minutes, I spiked a fever (although they didn't tell us that at the time) and they began to worry about infection for both me and Maddie. I vaguely remember consulting one of our favorite nurses and asking her what she would do, and she said -- sympathetically but factually -- that she would do a Cesarean. So that's what we did. They had me in the OR with a spinal epidural and all ready to go within fifteen minutes, but lying on the operating table with my arms stretched out and an oxygen mask over my face, I could still feel every contraction. I was frantically trying to get the nurse's attention with my eyes because I knew they were going to start cutting any minute and I was pretty sure if I'd had a spinal epidural, I shouldn't be feeling anything. That is truly the most panicked I've ever felt. She finally saw me and lifted my oxygen mask and I asked if I should be feeling contractions. She said "Are you?" with some degree of urgency and then went around my whole body poking me with a needle to see if I could feel it. I felt every poke. The last thing I remember hearing was someone -- presumably the surgeon -- yelling "Ok folks, we're going general," and then I was out.

They kicked Kurt out of the OR due to hospital policy that does not allow for family members to be with their loved ones when they are under general anesthesia. I guess my eyes were all taped up and there was a tube down my throat, which just doesn't look great. And there is always a risk of major complications, and they just don't want family members freaking out around them. Understandable, but that meant that he sat outside the OR, sobbing, filming the door with our newly purchased video camera not really knowing what was going on with me or what was happening with our baby. Good grief, we didn't even know if she was a boy or a girl at that point. At one point on the video footage, you can hear a faint cry through the door and then Kurt says with a shaky, wounded voice "That's my baby crying..."

Maddie was pretty limp and blue at first because she had gotten a hit of the general anesthesia before they got her out. She perked up right away, thank God, but they took her to the NICU just to make sure. After about twenty minutes, I think, they allowed Kurt to come back and see her. It took them a bit longer to get me all fixed up because I was kind of a mess. I had pushed so long and had gotten her far enough into the birth canal that they had to wrestle a bit and use some creative measures that I won't go into to get her out. I think it was about an hour and a half later before I finally woke up and met my baby, although I have very little memory of that. Mercifully, I do vividly remember Kurt asking me if I wanted to guess who was lying over in the little bassinet. I said our boy's name (because I was sure it was a boy the whole time I was pregnant), and he smiled and said "Madelyn Grace." He says that I started crying (shocker) and said "She's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen" as he brought her over to me.

So. Not exactly the birth story we had hoped for, planned for, or even remotely prepared for. I didn't even read the Cesarean chapters in my pregnancy books because I was young and healthy and determined and didn't at all think I would end up with one. My recovery was a nightmare. I was essentially recovering from two births, and because I was so totally exhausted, I just never quite caught up. It was nearly two months before I remember feeling like I could function somewhat normally again, and I also struggled a lot with breastfeeding because I had to hold her in all these weird positions to avoid pressure on my incision site.

I am terrified of experiencing something like that all over again. I am a candidate for a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean), and my doctor has said she will support whatever decision I make. I would love to have the experience of giving birth naturally (meaning "vaginally," not without an epidural, necessarily), and I know that in general, the recovery from a vaginal delivery is much less traumatic and long than the recovery from a Cesarean. Nevertheless, I know that there are still risks associated with VBACs, and I'm not a risk-taking kind of person. A part of me feels idiotic for even considering an option with potentially lethal risks when it's primarily the "experience" that I want, but I worry that choosing an elective Cesarean is somehow a "cop out" and that I would someday regret not even trying to delivery naturally. Really, I don't want to have to make the decision. I want Henry to be breech or for there to be some other (not serious) complication that would necessitate a repeat Cesarean. Or I want a guarantee that if I try for a VBAC, it will be successful, but obviously, that's not going to happen.

Alas, this is what keeps me up at night, tossing and turning with anxiety.

One last little story before I stop rambling: my mom told me just a couple of months ago about an experience she had just a bit after Madelyn was born. Kurt had already come out and announced to my parents and his parents that they had a grand-daughter and that she was ok, but at that time, I was still in the OR. Time passed and no one was saying anything about me, and my mom began to worry. She went to the nurses' station and told them who she was and asked if anyone could give her an update on her daughter. One older lady from behind the counter perked up and said "I'm the surgeon who did your daughter's Cesarean." She walked around the counter to my mom and took her hands and said "Are you a praying family?" My mom said "Yes, we are," and the surgeon said "I could feel every prayer in that OR. Your daughter is just fine and she's going to be ok, but she took a little work. Thank you for praying -- I think we needed it." So. I think that's pretty cool.

Preschool!

2010-09-07T13:46:00.000-07:00

Madelyn attended her first day of preschool this morning at Portland Christian School in Miss Malou's classroom. She (and I!) both did great. Parents could stay in the classroom as long as they wanted this morning, so I hung around for a bit just to make sure she felt supported and at ease. She walked right in, found her name on a coat hook, hung up her raincoat (yes, it's already raining here in Portland), and confidently marched right into the milieu. I chatted casually with a couple of the other parents, and after about fifteen minutes, she came over to me and said "Mommy, it's time for you to leave." Well then. Music to my ears, really, so I kissed her good-bye, told her I would be back soon, and walked toward the door. Alas, just as I got to the door, she ran over to me and asked me to stay "just for a little bit more." :)

I had a whole list of errands I thought I might run this morning while she was at school but only one got done. I picked up a latte and went straight back to the school to sit in the parents' lounge and read until it was time to pick her up. I just felt better being a little closer to her this first day. I returned to her classroom at 11:15 to pick her up, and she ran over to me, elated. She already had art in her take-home cubby and proudly informed me that she went potty and wiped all by herself. Big day indeed.

We're very proud of our brave preschooler and are looking forward to being a part of the PCS community. I'm sure this year will be full of school adventures for Maddie, so we'll be sure to keep you updated!

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice? Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails?

2010-08-25T22:15:00.000-07:00

Ever since Madelyn astutely reasoned the truth about my growing tummy, she has confidently stated that our baby is a little boy. She says this very matter-of-factly -- like it's not her preference to have a little brother; it simply is a little brother. We've asked her on several occasions under several different sets of circumstances just to test her, and her answer is always the same: boy. Our 20-week ultrasound was scheduled for today, and given her "boy" fixation, we figured we'd better find out our baby's sex lest our little girl end up quite disappointed with a little sister come January (we didn't learn of Maddie's sex until she was born -- which was super fun -- so this was new territory for us).

Evidently, our little girl has a sixth sense about these things, smart little rascal! We are utterly delighted to announce that HENRY FINN OLMSTED will be joining our family in January 2011. Little brother indeed :)

Little Henry was quite the ham during the hour-long ultrasound. He was twisting and kicking and punching all over the place such that the tech had to try repeatedly to get the measurements that she needed. At one point while we were looking at his darling profile, something kept sneaking into the frame toward his forehead. She pulled the frame back and we saw -- clear as day -- that he had kicked both of his little feet way up over his head and was using his fingers to play with his little toes. Just amazing. I certainly respect anyone's right to believe what they want about God, but I just don't know how you look at something like that and not believe in a Divine Creator...

Anyway, we had the tech turn our monitor off when she got to the baby's bits and print off the identifying photo in secret and put it in a sealed envelope. We then went out for dinner just the two of us at our favorite restaurant (Andina) and fervently opened the envelope after our order had been placed. I think we both yelled "It's a boy!" and our server ended up bringing us a delicious dessert as congratulations. All in all, a pretty fine day.

We can't wait to meet our Henry Finn, and we will be so excited to introduce him to all of you come January!

Sunriver 2010

2010-08-22T20:36:00.000-07:00

We just returned from four glorious days of vacation in Sunriver, Oregon with some of our closest friends. We four families (8 adults and 7.5 children) vacation together every summer, and while historically we have ventured only to the beach, we broadened our horizons to include Sunriver this year, and I think we're all sold. We've all been to Sunriver separately many times, but this was our first time together as a group. As you can see, we had a BLAST:

Abbi yee-hawing on the see-saw at the park.

Umm, Kurt and Ian yee-hawing on the see-saw at the park.

Rachel and Madelyn riding their bikes on one of the bazillion bike paths.

Madelyn, Abbi, and Rachel playing doggies. These girls were best-buddies most of the weekend.

Eli and Sarah. Sarah was Eli's shadow pretty much the whole weekend, and although he put up an age-appropriate front of being annoyed, you can see that he's actually pretty chuffed :)

The whole gang. Clockwise from left: Nicole, Ian, Alli, Molly, Graham, Owen, Bruce, Pat, Eli, Kurt, Madelyn, Rachel, Abbi, and I'm taking the picture. I'm too big to fit in most pictures these days (ok, just kidding).

This is where we found Madelyn one night when we went back to our room to go to sleep -- under our bed. This "falling asleep outside of her bed" thing seems to be a pattern. We decided to roll with it and made her a "fort bed" inside the closet of our room. She was pretty happy with that and slept much better the last two nights we were there.

Nicole and Sarah.

Kurt dancing with Lazslo. He was pretty hurt that Lazslo seemed to have eyes only for Pat.

3 1/2 year old Owen doing a head-stand. Pretty sure there are extreme sports in his future. Good luck, Ian and Alli!

Madelyn and Graham watching the boats at the marina.

The Hintz sibs (Abbi, Eli, and Owen) testing out a kayak...maybe for next year?

Us at the marina during a pit-stop on our bike ride.

Nicole and Sarah lent us their bike for the morning so we could take a bike ride. So much fun! Maddie LOVED it and was super chatty the whole way. Even pregnant, I loved toting her along behind me. We definitely need to get a seat for Baby next summer and hopefully a tag-a-long for Maddie. I regret that we haven't done this sooner!

Impromptu dance party on Saturday morning. Shake it!

Abbi, Rachel, and Owen during the dance party with Sarah on Kurt's shoulders in the background.

Kurt and Madelyn at the pool. There are so many activities to do in Sunriver! Great place for families...

Abbi in the pool.

Owen showing off his ice-cream goatee. In Owen's world, there is really only one flavor of anything worth having: chocolate. Good boy, Owie.

Zoolander. Err, Eli.

Besties Madelyn and Rachel enjoying a staple of summery goodness.

Perfect way to end a summer day.

A wild coyote that wandered alarmingly close to our house. With dog tags on. Ok ok, that's really Kaya, the Hagerty's dog. She fits in very well in Sunriver, although we were joking that we should put an orange vest on her everytime she goes out just in case some trigger-happy local gets a bit over-zealous about protecting the neighborhood cats.

Gorgeous blue sky, white clouds, and high-deserty juniper trees. Very different climate and scenery from the Willamette Valley which is why Sunriver always feels like such an escape.

Thanks, friends, for another unforgettable adventure! We are blessed to have you in our lives and are ever grateful for these fun memories!

The Last Laugh (of the day, that is)

2010-08-12T09:04:00.000-07:00

This is where we found Madelyn last night just before Kurt and I went to bed. Kurt about had a panic attack because he didn't see her in her bed anywhere, but upon closer review, there she was on the floor behind the orange rocking chair, totally asleep. Kids are so weird.

But then things got even better. Kurt picked her up to take her potty, and I climbed into bed. About two minutes later, I heard him whisper-yelling my name from the bathroom. I ran in there to find him nearly choking with laughter, and he told me to give Maddie's tummy a pat. I complied and discovered that she had been sleeping with one of her tiny stuffed baby dolls under her pajama top...sound like the physique of anyone else in our family? Since learning about the baby in Mommy's tummy, Maddie has been fascinated with putting baby dolls and stuffed animals and balls up her shirt to pretend that she has a baby in her tummy, too. Totally normal, I know, but it just cracks us up. The other night, Kurt came home from work to find his two "pregnant" girls sitting on the couch watching a Veggietales video. Kind of alarming at first glance! Anyway, we both were snort-laughing so hard in the bathroom last night that we woke Maddie up (she typically stays fast asleep through this final-potty routine). She smiled and then looked pretty confused and just pointed to her bed, but first thing this morning, she wanted to get her baby and put her right back where she evidently belongs -- in her tummy :)

Two Wheelin'

2010-08-09T20:08:00.000-07:00

This evening we picked up an early birthday present for Madelyn (can it truly be time for another birthday?!!) We are headed to Sunriver next week for our annual vacation with our friends, and we wanted her to have a bike to ride while she is there (Sunriver has fabulous bike trails, for those who have never been). I've done quite a bit of research in the last few days (you have to be thorough about these things when you live with my husband!) about ways to get toddlers started on bikes, and everything kept pointing to pedal-less "balance" bikes. I've seen more and more tots on them recently, and everyone says that if you start your kiddo on one of these, they won't even need training wheels when it comes time to transition to a full-size two-wheel bike because they will already have mastered the scariest part of two-wheeling: learning to balance. Anyway, we're pretty stoked about this new adventure, and so is Maddie! She hopped on right away and started pushing along, and I'm sure in no time, she'll be cruising. She has talked and talked about a pink bike, and lo and behold, we were actually able to comply. Fun times!

(We were super excited to find out about these bikes, and we're always super excited to share good finds with others. If you are interested in learning more about these bikes -- particularly the Striders like we got Maddie -- hit this gal's website:

www.portlandstriderbikes.com.

She's local and will meet you anywhere to do a demo with your kiddo at no cost. She also ships around the country, but even if you're able to find a local retailer closer to you, her website has great information (and adorable videos) of the philosophy behind the bikes. Enjoy!)

No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed!

2010-08-03T21:00:00.000-07:00

So somewhere along the way when I was pregnant with Madelyn we stumbled upon a "sock monkey" theme (gender neutral, retro, all good). Nana's quilt for the baby was all sock monkeys so the nursery ended up being sock monkeys which of course meant we had to purchase every stuffed monkey and monkey outfit that existed. We started calling her "our little monkey" which became more and more fitting the bigger she got as she rolled and kicked and tumbled -- constantly -- inside my belly. Those kick charts they give you at the doctors office were hilarious. You're supposed to make sure the baby kicks ten times within one hour; I would sit down to do the test and she would kick ten times in three minutes.

And then "our little monkey" was born, and to sum up, her post-birth activity level has been quite consistent with her pre-birth activity level. Not sure why this surprised us. She has two speeds: running and asleep, and truthfully, she doesn't even fully stop moving in her sleep. She is extremely busy with a seemingly insatiable curiosity about everything, and while we adore her personality (and we SO do), she is often quite exhausting to parent.

Bottom line, our family has filled it's quota of monkeys and I'm not sure we could handle one more. We are therefore being a little more...selective, shall we say, about the token animal for this next baby. A turtle, perhaps? Or a sloth or a koala? Or maybe just a lazy puppy? We're taking suggestions, so fire away :)

Wine Country

2010-08-01T21:36:00.000-07:00

What an adventure! Some long-time family friends have been in town staying with my parents, so yesterday my mom organized a whole day of wine tasting down in the Willamette Valley...via limo -- super swank :) There were ten of us altogether and we had so much fun! Mimi was kind enough to stay and play with Madelyn the whole day. Admittedly, not being able to actually taste the wine (that smelled so, so good) put a bit of a damper on my personal wine tasting experience, but the scenery was so gorgeous and the company was so delightful that it was a fabulous day all the same. Here are some highlights (although I'm still waiting for a few group photos and will post them when I get them):

Debbie at Torii Mor

Pinot Gris grapes...that might actually make it into a glass that I can drink someday.

My parents at Torri Mor

Kelsie and Ben at Four Graces

My mom, sister, and me at Anne Amie -- I could live there...

Kurt and me

Anne Amie

Pat and Maddie in the limo on the way from our house back up to my parents. Maddie couldn't quite believe how big the car was and that she could actually stand up and walk around and no one was telling her otherwise!

The Cat is Out of the Bag!

2010-07-28T20:11:00.000-07:00

(This afternoon while helping Madelyn with a potty break in the bathroom):

MG: "Mommy, can I see your tummy?"

Me: "Sure babe." (I pull up my shirt so she can see my very round tummy.)

MG: (While patting my tummy gently with a pensive look on her face): "Mommy, is there a baby in there?"

Me: (BEAMING but totally bummed that Kurt wasn't there): "Well, that's a very good question! I think there might be a baby in there, but let's call Daddy and check with him. Maybe he'll know for sure..."

Maddie and I then called Kurt at work who laughed heartily and confirmed for Maddie that there is, in fact, a baby in Mommy's tummy. She seemed pretty chuffed that she had figured it out, although truthfully, I think she has suspected as much for awhile now and has been a bit sheepish about saying anything. We talked about how the baby was going to have to grow in Mommy's tummy for a long time before it would be big enough to come out and play with us, and she said "then we will bring it to our house and I will be a big sister!"

I am SUPER excited that our girl is now in the know. This will be a fun time of anticipation and excitement for all of us, and we'll be able to do lots of good processing before Baby arrives. It will also make it a whole lot easier to rationalize why she has to be gentle around Mommy's tummy; Maddie is not a mean girl, but she can be quite rough, and I've already taken a few kicks and jabs to the gut. Now there is a good reason why she'll have to be a bit more gentle around Mommy's tummy.

Anyway, we've had a fun day -- it was also my first day home with Maddie since going back to full-time five months ago! -- and we just wanted to share.

A July Pictoral Journal

2010-07-21T20:29:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has seen the new Toy Story 3 movie will recognize Madelyn's new friend: Lots o' Huggin' Bear. He's the "villain" in the story, but that doesn't seem to bother Maddie...perhaps she chooses to see the good in all living creatures :) Anyway, Lotso was her reward for staying in her big girl bed (or at least in her room quietly) for ten nights in a row. Fortunately, our girl responds very well to incentive charts, so we've been keeping track with stickers and every ten no-put-back nights (until the problem has gone away) she gets a trip to the toy store. Who knows who will join us next time...

We are total blueberry snobs, and we ONLY pick the freshest, most organic blueberries at Olmsted Acres up in Vancouver :) Baba and Mimi have 7 gorgeous blueberry bushes, and Maddie loves to pick 'em and eat 'em. Baba was endlessly patient, as always!

Kari indulging Maddie in a game with her new Toy Story ball (sensing a theme?). We always have such fun with Kurt's family!

The wonderfully shady tree in our backyard. It's still not quite done (which is why we haven't done a full spread of photos yet), but nevertheless we still spend quite a bit of time back there and are so grateful to have the space.

It won't be long and I won't be able to bend over like that anymore!

Us!! (I told Maddie to give the camera a "toothy grin." She complied.

Silly faces :)

Love love love that we actually have grass to roll around on in our very own backyard! It's the simple things, really. We don't have a patio yet, but that hasn't stopped us from eating dinner outside almost every night. Then we roll around on the grass. Well, Kurt and Maddie roll. I get one roll and can't go any farther, so I just take photos :)

Rose Garden 2010

2010-07-16T20:35:00.000-07:00

Each summer, we visit the Portland Rose Garden in Washington Park and eat a little picnic and take a little stroll through the overwhelming gorgeousness. It's been fun documenting Madelyn's growth next to rows and rows of roses:

Picnics have been a bit different for us this year because Maddie is old enough now to want to run around a bit on her own and interact with other children. There were three older girls (two in elementary and one in middle, I think) and one toddler boy playing together close to where we spread our blanket, and she asked right away if she could go over and play with the kids. We said yes, and she shot off immediately. We saw her run right up to them and heard her say "Hi! My name is Maddie! What is your name?" I prayed a Mother's prayer -- "Please play with her...please play with her..." and was genuinely touched to see these older girls kneel down on the grass to talk to her and tolerate her as she tried to copy their cartwheels and dance moves. About every six or seven minutes, she would return to us -- just elated -- as if to reassure herself that we were still there but also to relish in the fact that these girls were playing with her. She'd eat a few bites and would then be off to play some more. This went on for about a half hour until the older girls walked back to their family to eat their picnic. She returned to us, and when we were finished, Kurt walked over to the girls and their parents to tell them how much he appreciated them playing with Madelyn. The oldest girl smiled and said "No problem! She's just like me -- crazy!" Ha!!

S is for Swoosh!

2010-07-13T20:20:00.000-07:00

Well we're just swimming in good news around here, folks. We were delighted to tell you about our second little blessing last week, and this week, we're super excited -- and oh-so-relieved! -- to tell you that Kurt was offered a job at Nike. We felt like we each lost about ten pounds when we heard the news. As far too many of you know, being unemployed really starts to wear on you after awhile, even if you adapt and life seems to just move along. We had lots of question marks hanging over our heads -- a few too many for an overly anxious Type A uber-planner like myself. I was grumpy a lot of the time and not always as trusting and optimistic as a girl who loves Jesus should be. Saying that it was all worth it now that's it's all over would be a bit too rosy and a lot too untruthful, so I'll simply say that it was what it was and we'll accept this new job with grateful hearts and generous spirits.

Kurt will have to tell you more about what he will be doing, but what he won't say (so I will tell you) is that his new boss was very complimentary of him when he called to offer him the job. Kurt has lots of good experience in this field but not necessarily exactly the level of experience this team was looking for...and they wanted him anyway...in the middle of a nasty recession. I am so proud of him and so excited to see how he flourishes in this new position and what opportunities come his way. And we are both very excited to be a part of the Nike community. They have quite a reputation around here for taking care of their employees (and their employees' families), and the possibilities for growth and movement and challenge and adventure are exciting. His first day will be July 26, so we'll keep you posted on how things go. I will be going back down to part-time hours that same week, so it will be a big transition for all of us for sure.

Now to rebuild the wardrobe... Removing all of the stripes and trefoils from our closets and drawers has left quite a dent, so it'll be fun to slowly let the swooshes take over!

Q: It's About Time We...

2010-07-03T12:29:00.000-07:00

A: Updated this blog
B. Got some sunshine and warm(er) weather
C. Filled this house to capacity and added another baby
D. All of the above

Yes, my friends..."D" is the correct answer. We are, indeed, finally updating this blog and we are thrilled to finally have some summery weather that looks like it might actually stick around for awhile. But the big news, for those who might not yet know, is that we will be adding to our family by way of one tiny baby in January 2011. But Kurt is laid off! you might say. Your house is the size of most Americans' garages! It seems like lately you can barely manage the one child you've got! Yes. Yes, all these things are true, and we are thrilled nonetheless.

Given the impending arrival of said tiny baby, we've been doing a lot of prep work around here. Madelyn does not yet know that Mommy has a baby in her tummy, and we will hold off on telling her as long as possible (primarily because as soon as she finds out she'll want the baby to arrive immediately and we all know that pregnancy is anything but "immediate"). Nevertheless, we've been reading a lot of books about babies and becoming a Big Sister, and we talk frequently about what it might be like to have a baby live at our house. Perhaps every mom thinks this (or hopes it, at least), but I think Madelyn is going to be a fantastic Big Sister. She LOVES our friends' babies and has even lobbied to just have one of them come live at our house. She gets on the floor and coos and smiles at babies as soon as she sees one (even ones we don't know at the park), and her rough-and-tumble body can instantly become so sweetly gentle when she touches a baby. During our nightly prayer, if I happen to forget, she will say "Jesus, be with the baby that will one day come live at our house so I can be a Big Sister." Heart. Melting.

Adding a new baby to our lives does present some logistical challenges, however. We do, indeed, live in a very tiny house. We love it and are so grateful for it, but boy it's tiny. We're not exactly sure how we're going to fit both kiddos in Madelyn's room together, but for certain, they both can't sleep in the crib together. So. Last night, we ventured to Ikea (friend of all those with small rooms and small wallets) and picked out a Big Girl Bed. Kurt put it together this morning, and she loves it, to say the least. She played in there the rest of the morning and had no trouble at all falling asleep for nap today (she's cozied up in there fast asleep as I write). It's a bunk-bed, as you can see, which we figure will carry us several years into the future with two kiddos, but for now, it's just an open canopy for some of her friends to hang out. Super cute!

The Appalachian Trail with Uncle Kris

2010-06-10T20:52:00.000-07:00

Hi all. Just a quick little note to highlight a fun adventure that my little brother Kris is on as I write. He and his buddy Joel embarked on the Appalachian Trail on Tuesday night. I don't know all of the statistics, but all you really need to know is that they will be hiking all day long every day for the next four and a half months. My goodness. We are all very proud of them for even giving it a go, 'cause it's certainly more than any of the rest of us are doing! Kurt has set up a nifty little way of tracking him from the GPS emails we get from him every couple of days. For those of you who might be interested, the map is over to the right. We're all so excited for him, but we're a little nervous too, so seeing those little dots pop up on the map will all help us sleep easier at night :) I'm sure he'll have some fabulous stories when he gets back! Maybe we'll have to see if he could do a guest spot on the blog...

Posting: Evidently on the Back-Burner

2010-04-29T22:40:00.000-07:00

Wow, one post in the whole month of April, and it's already May 10 and this will be the first post this month. Wild. Things are still topsy-turvy over here, obviously. Kurt has been laid off for over three months, and I've been working full-time for just over two months. I think our naive selves really thought he would've had a job by now, so it feels pretty discouraging that we're still solidly in the middle of a lay off with no sign that it's going to turn around anytime soon. I'm not going to lie: I'm not a fan of this arrangement one bit. I am an idealist to the core and see the world always for what I think it should be. I have a very difficult time adjusting or accepting when anything (small or big) falls outside of "should," so these last few months of having to stretch and shift and bend and give up have been enormously challenging for me. Sometimes, I just don't get it. I know that's the lesson and I know I have to be obedient to it, but I don't have to like it. Still, I've seen God show up in some pretty cool ways in my life, and I am choosing to believe, despite my fears to the contrary, that somehow the end result of all of this will be healthier and more blessing-filled for our little family than all of my "shoulds" and ideals could've imagined. And certainly, there are millions of people in this world far worse off than the three of us even on our worst day, so you know...perspective is a humbling and completely necessary thing. Nevertheless, the waiting -- and anxiety -- continue...

Life has continued to go on, though, and children add such levity, thank God. Madelyn keeps us laughing, and we are continually amazed at her growth and development. (She also is directly responsible for the rise of both of our blood pressures, but I'll save those laments for another post. She is just two and a half, after all. She could hardly hold her head up high among her peers if she didn't give her parents some tale-worthy grief...) Here are a few of our favorite Maddiecakes moments in the last several weeks:

1. Even though she is unbelievably strong-willed and stubborn, she is such a sweet, tender-hearted little girl. Her feelings are easily hurt, and she is already able to read emotions on other people's faces and ask with genuine concern if "you is ok?" We have these little "sweet nothings" that we have said to her for months, and we are starting to hear them come back at us, which is just so cute. She'll say, "You know what I like? It's you!" and give us a totally unsolicited hug and/or kiss. Heart. Melting. (She does this with our parents, too, which is also so fabulous. This girl just LOVES her extended family. She talks about each of them -- even the Seattlites! -- every day and literally jumps up and down and squeals when she sees them. SO grateful that we live near family...)

2. With the coming of spring (hallelujah!) and some warmer weather, we are outside nearly every day -- rain or shine -- and it's been fun to see how much Maddie loves nature. She loves digging in the dirt and gets really excited when she finds a worm. She'll happily entertain herself for as long as we happen to be working outside, and I love the earthy, slightly sweaty way she smells when she comes back inside. We are in the middle of a major overhaul of our backyard (thanks to my brawny husband with unexpected time on his hands), so we'll keep you posted with photos when it's all said and done. If all goes as planned, we will have a little Olmsted Oasis in our backyard this summer to escape the heat, the city, and the busyness of life.

3. Madelyn is really into playing "baby" lately. Sometimes she's the baby and I have to mother her, and then sometimes I am the baby and she gets to mother me. I'm a fan because when she's the baby, she'll actually curl up in my lap and sit there for an extended period of time and my arms just love to hold that girl. The following picture is us pretending that she's a baby snuggling in the Moby. I thought for sure she'd want out right away, but she was quite content to stay in there and cuddle for awhile, just like she used to.

Well, that's all for now. I hope to post again before the end of May, but if not, see you in June. Thanks for understanding :)

Hike!

2010-04-21T20:48:00.000-07:00

We took advantage of a quiet, slightly balmy spring morning this past Sunday to go for a hike. There's a trail in Forest Park off of Germantown road that we've been wanting to try, so we did. And it was great. Each time I enter a forest, it genuinely surprises me just how crisp and fresh the air is. And green! My goodness, spring in a forest is practically electric. Just gorgeous. We are so grateful to live in a part of the country where we can be fifteen minutes outside of a city and feel like we're in the middle of nowhere.

So Madelyn loved the trees and the flowers and the birds and all, but the mud was the true star. She kept looking at us like "Are you sure this is ok?" Stomp away, baby, stomp away. All rules are off in a forest :)

Such pretty little wildflowers.

Stunning little fiddle-head fern.

Love the scale of this photo.

Next to the mud, the slugs were Maddie's favorite part of hiking. The last half of the hike turned into a bonafide slug hunt. She would've touched them if I had let her, but sadly for Madelyn, that is one rule that still stands in the forest...

Our big girl hiker...

...who's still little enough to get tuckered out after 2.5 miles.

Gramma's Ring

2010-03-26T20:26:00.000-07:00

So, you might remember that both of my grandmas passed away last fall -- my Gramma Johnson in September and my Grandma Bickley just three weeks later in October. For no particular reason at all, I've been missing both of them quite a bit lately. No one is quite as excited to see you or hear about your day like your grandma. My Gramma J. for sure was always such a good listener and a source of unconditional encouragement. Of course, I miss her and all that encompassed who she was, but I also miss the way I felt when I was with her: important; cherished; adored. We all need to feel like we're at the top of someone's list every now and then, and my Gramma made me feel that way every time I saw her. My Grandma B. had a faith unlike anyone I've ever known. While she was alive, I didn't really understand her, and I'm a bit ashamed to admit that I didn't seek to know her or ask her about why she believed the things that she did. For reasons that are too lengthy for this particular post, the last few months have been extremely spiritually challenging for me. I have a lot of questions and a lot of anxiety that I just know she could've helped me work through. I think we could've really bonded over that conversation, and I'm genuinely sad that we will not ever have that opportunity (although she left her Bible full of handwritten notes and passages that I would love to read through someday).

When my Gramma J. died, she left me her emerald ring. I feel so blessed and honored to be entrusted with this treasure; certainly, it has great monetary value, but more importantly, it holds great sentimental value for all of us who loved her because it was one of her favorite and most worn pieces of jewelry. She designed it sometime in the 80's with a jeweler here in Portland who has become a family friend throughout the years. I have dozens of specific memories of my Gramma wearing her emerald ring, and I can vividly recall what it looked like on her individual hand. I have always admired it, but it was quite a few sizes too big for my finger and looked a bit awkward on my hand. I would've happily gazed at it in my jewelry box every day, but it most likely would not have ever left my bedroom. My mom, however -- true to her creative and generous nature -- offered to take me to the same jeweler who designed the ring in the first place and have it redesigned with all of its original elements to suit my hand and my taste. Fabulous. Just fabulous. Given our current stage of life, it would've been 15 or 20 years before we could've justified such an expense. It is by no means a necessity, but I'm so grateful to my parents for continuously treating me to the "un-necessities" of life -- they are never lost on me. The completed ring was delivered to me today, and just look at how beautiful it is:

I am thrilled with it. My mom is thrilled with it. And I really think my Gramma would be thrilled with it, too. I love that this gold and these jewels encircled her finger for nearly 30 years. It's beautiful and sparkly, and I get all girly and giddy looking at it dance around on my hand, but I just love that it was hers...and I hope someday that my grand-daughter will feel it encircling her finger and smile at its beauty and feel the same way.

Snapshots

2010-03-21T20:33:00.001-07:00

For the last two months, we've had a heck of a time with Madelyn at bedtime. She's never been a great sleeper, necessarily, but she at least was always able to fall asleep on her own relatively quickly. Since Kurt was laid off and things went all topsy-turvy on her, however, she's been laying awake in her crib -- talking, singing, scolding her stuffed animals -- for up to two hours every night. I'm sure this is just her way of processing everything that's been going on around here; we certainly don't feel like we act stressed around her, but children are quite perceptive. We wind her down with dim lighting and stories and have removed everything potentially distracting from her crib, but the little rascal finds ways of MacGyver-ing toys in there! I'm not sure what transpired with these tutus before she finally fell asleep, but this is how we found her just before we went to bed.

Kurt ran the Shamrock Run 15k a week ago and did an awesome job. He beat the time he was hoping for like it took no effort at all even though I'm confident that it did. Maddie and I went down to cheer him on and enjoy a beautiful spring morning, and she was so confused. We knew where he was going to be at approximately what time, but we ended up standing in the same place for about 20 minutes before he eventually ran by. She kept asking me, "Mommy, where are all these people running?" I told her they were just running for the sake of running which only seemed to confuse her more (I share her confusion, actually, which might explain my sub-par answer; while I certainly admire runners and get a jog in every now and then, running is not at all my exercise of choice). Then, despite our looking, we didn't even see Kurt approaching us. He saw us and yelled our names as he ran by, so we yelled "Yay Daddy! Go Daddy!" and then it was done. You can understand why she would have difficulty understanding what all the fuss was about. Nevertheless, we all had a great time, and we're very proud of our runner-for-the-sake-of-running.

This photo (of Mimi and Maddie) was taken just yesterday at the opening of our local farmer's market. We LOVE our farmer's market and are so excited to once again get to visit it once a week. The one we frequent (at Esther Short Park in Vancouver) is just awesome. Tons of farmers, artists, street performers, and food carts right next to a gorgeous park with a huge playground and a water fountain -- a one-stop adventure for a Saturday morning. Yesterday, we met Mimi and Auntie Kari there and had a great time. We picked up some carrots and a few Pink Ladies and treated ourselves to a waffle. Delicious. So happy that spring is here. We joined a CSA this year, too, and get to pick up our first box this Tuesday afternoon, so we'll let you know how that goes. Happy Spring to each of you!

Monkeys and "Hippopopamuses"

2010-03-09T20:00:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of videos for you that show off two of our favorite sides of Madelyn's personality:

In choosing a "monkey" theme for her bedroom before she was born, we had no idea how accurately this animal would fit her personality. Madelyn is on the move all the time. She loves to run, jump, dance, skip, bounce, drum, tap, twirl, and wiggle. We try to keep her as active as possible because she will literally run laps around the living room (or just stay up talking and singing in her crib until 10:00) if we don't. We recently cleaned up the basement and put a rug down there and some of her louder, busier toys. It's been a life-saver for rainy, no-park days.

Madelyn has always loved the book But Not the Hippopotamus by Sandra Boynton. Lately, however, she likes to "read" along with us, and oh my goodness, it is the cutest thing ever. I LOVE the way she says "hippopotamus." Some day, when she actually says it correctly, we will be so sad. Also, about 3/4 into the book, listen for her to excitedly exclaim "It's the same!!" This is her new favorite phrase, and she says it the same way every time. She loves to find things that are the same (color, shape, size, etc.) and she is amazingly observant.

Sparse Posting

2010-03-04T20:07:00.000-08:00

In case you wonder where we are in the next few weeks, this is what's going on:

Mr. Mom and The Sugarmama

Nevertheless, we have managed to take a few photos:

Riding a pony at our local indoor playpark where we go at least once per week. Love NoPo, baby :)

Madelyn is obsessed (truly) with window clings. These ones are from Auntie Kari. So cute!

Not really sure what's going on here, but the monkey seems to be riveted.

Reading to her friends in her crib one afternoon.

Madelyn finally got to legitimately use her umbrella. Banner day!

The Unexpected

2010-02-22T21:14:00.000-08:00

Not sure how I haven't fully learned this lesson yet, but don't ever--not out loud or even in your head--say that life feels pretty manageable. If you do, set a place at your table for Murphy and his blasted Law, and be prepared for him to overstay his welcome. Kurt was laid off from his job at adidas three weeks ago. We certainly didn't see that coming, which, really, is a blessing. So. We've joined 11% of our fellow Americans and are hunkering down, thinning out the budget, and hoping for another job to come soon. Kurt really enjoyed being a part of the adidas community, and I know he's missing the good folks there. (I really miss the feta basil salad dressing at the adidas cafeteria. I've tried to re-create it. It's just not the same.) He's sticking true to his character, however, and is very optimistic and confident that another opportunity will soon come his way that will somehow be better for him and our family in the long run. If nothing else, it is always valuable and refreshing to be reminded of just how little we need to live happily, contentedly, and joyfully (feta basil dressing or no feta basil dressing).

Madelyn is totally confused as to why Daddy is suddenly around so much; she asks him most mornings if he's going to work as if she just needs to get her bearings for the day. We're making the most of it, though. The three of us have snuggled extra long in the mornings and enjoyed sunny afternoon walks and made the grocery store a family adventure. Every now and then, Maddie will look at us and exclaim, "You guys are not leaving!"

The photo above was taken just as we were headed out the door for a walk on a gorgeous, sunny, early-spring day. Portland has enjoyed beautiful weather the last week or so, which has pleased everyone except poor Madelyn. She has begged for her own umbrella for several weeks now, and I finally relented last Tuesday and bought her that darling pint-sized purplicious umbrella. Of course, the sun came out that afternoon and stuck around for the rest of the week. Wah wah. Only a native Portlander would complain about the absence of rain :) She finally just started carrying it even though it was sunny, hence the photo above (the fur collar is actually mine off of one of my jackets, but she looks quite chic sporting it, hey?).

Empire State of Mind, Baby!

2010-02-01T20:45:00.000-08:00

Major adventure in our house this past week: Kurt and I went on vacation for five days sin niña. He turned 30 on January 17, and for his birthday, I surprised him with a trip to New York City (where he has always wanted to visit) with our dear friends, Nick and Beth Dekker from Columbus, Ohio. We've only been away from Madelyn one night at a time for three nights over the last 2 1/2 years, and all three times, we were no more than 15 miles away from her. So New York City was a disproportionately large step! I was SO anxious leading up to our departure. Our parents were going to tag-team caring for Maddie, so I knew she was going to be just fine, but being that far away from your child just feels biologically wrong somehow. But, thank God, we all did just fine. It helped that Nick and Beth were in exactly the same boat, having left their son, Will, with Beth's parents for the first time. We have vacationed several times with Nick and Beth, so we fell right in step and thoroughly enjoyed pretending we were young newlyweds with no responsibilities again.

Here are a few pictures of our New York adventure. Sorry none of them include Madelyn! She had an adventure of her own, but "what goes on at Grandma's house stays at Grandma's house!"

Nick, Beth, Me, and Kurt in Central Park. We barely put our toes in the park because we ran out of time and, well, it was January, but if I ever go back to New York (when it's not below freezing), this is where I want to spend the bulk of my time. It's just amazing to me that this incomprehensibly huge piece of nature lies in the heart of one of the largest cities in the world. And it's kind of cool knowing that one of Kurt's ancestors (Fredrick Law Olmsted "Uncle Freddy") designed the whole thing. I don't know the exact statistics, but it sure felt like the entirety of Portland could fit inside Central Park. They have a zoo. And a castle. And three lakes and, like, a dozen playgrounds. I'm sure it's absolutely beautiful when everything is green and in bloom.

Hot chocolate with a house-made marshmallow at the City Bakery. Decadent. It was more like syrup than chocolaty milk. I'm pretty sure the marshmallow alone cost five bucks, but what the hey. "When in Rome," right?

DIM SUM!! Holy business, this was the craziest experience of the whole trip. We got a recommendation from some friends of Nick and Beth's who live in New York to hit this place for some authentic dim sum, and while I've never had dim sum before, if this wasn't authentic, I'm not sure I want to know what is. We had to take an escalator to get to the main dining room on the second floor which stretched on and on and on. We couldn't believe that such a large dining room exists in Manhattan. We hadn't even sat down in our chairs or taken off our coats when three or four ladies scuttled over to our table pushing carts full of unidentifiable yumminess. They kept asking us questions in Chinese and we just kept saying "I don't know, I don't know" over and over until finally we were like, "What the heck! Sure! We'll take this one and that one and another one of this one." Oh. My. Goodness. I really don't know what I ate, but it was amazing. We ate and ate until we literally had no room left, and the final bill came to a whopping $44 for the four of us. Best deal ever.

This was our collective favorite. Pretty AND delectable.

The "Highline" reclamation project in Chelsea. The neighborhood rallied to turn an abandoned elevated train bridge (that was scheduled to be torn down) into a peaceful boardwalk with benches and trees and grasses. You can enter the Highline from a number of spots on the street level, one of which is just outside the amazing Chelsea Marketplace (think organic fruits and veggies, specialty cheese and wine, nuts and chocolate, and delicious bakeries). If I had to live in New York, I think I'd want to live in Chelsea.

The drink menu at Ninth Street Espresso in the Chelsea Marketplace. Those seven drinks are all they offer. No substitutions, additions, or amendments. Period. It was fantastic espresso, but the baristas seemed to know it.

Katz' Delicatessen. The table in the photo above is the table where Meg Ryan "thoroughly enjoyed" her meal in the movie "When Harry Met Sally." The sign reads "Where Harry met Sally. Hope you have what she had!" Fabulous sandwiches and fries.

The BEST pickles I've ever had. Less vinegary and more cucumbery but still crunchy, cold, and delicious. I ate seven and could've kept on going if someone would hurry up and invent an interchangable stomach.

The gents at Mecca.

A toy soldier made entirely of jelly beans at FAO Schwartz.

Never imagined that a subway tunnel could be pretty, but that's exactly what this one was. The whole thing was mosaiced in these beautiful tiles to appear like layers of earth, and there were also Mother Goose rhymes (randomly) etched around the top.

The foyer of the New York Public Library.

We didn't actually go to the top of the Empire State Building because, well, everything in New York costs an arm and a leg and we only had so many arms and legs. But the lobby was pretty enough.

Grand Central Station.

Wall Street. Ohmygoshcold!

This is the historic church that was within a stone's throw of the World Trade Towers and miraculously survived the 9/11 disaster. It became the hub for taking care of all of the relief workers in those awful weeks and is now a sort-of museum of artifacts, stories, video footage, etc. It was quite sobering to stand where there was once so much sorrow and grief, but it was heart-warming, too, reading about how much love was poured out on strangers in the largest and smallest of ways (endless food, cots on which to sleep, and grief counselors but also foot massagers and musicians providing live classical music).

They've left all of the pews with the scuffs and gouges incurred by the firemen's boots as a tribute to their bravery and selflessness.

Super cute little farm-chic diner called Kitchenette just around the corner from where we stayed in Tribeca. Delicious breakfast with the best apple-turkey sausage ever.

Times Square, as if there was any confusion.

We took a tour of the NBC studios which was totally fun! When we got to the SNL stage, Michael Buble was rehearsing for his gig as the musical guest on SNL that week, and he totally hammed it up for us and serenaded us with a song.

Cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery (Are you detecting a theme yet? We pretty much ate our way through New York with a special emphasis on bakeries :) For any of you who might be familiar with SNL's "Chronic(What?!)les of Narnia," this is the bakery at which they "mack on cupcakes."

30 Rockefeller Plaza.

In front of the famous Rockefeller Center ice rink.

I have a small crush on Matt Lauer and also love the Today Show. We stopped by the studio on Thursday morning and even though it was sleeting, we stood outside the window and became the idiots in the background smiling and waving like dopes because they're on TV. It was worth the humiliation. Matt and Meredith were gone already, but we saw Anne Curry and Natalie Morales and then, a bit later, Kathy Lee Gifford.

Winter Days

2010-01-13T20:34:00.001-08:00

We don't really do much in January, so I've been struggling the last couple of days not really knowing what to write about. But here's what I love about our little family: we all love being in our home with each other finding laughter and adventure in spontaneous moments.

Madelyn is at that age now where she loves to be tickled but then begs you to stop only to ask you to start again. Repeatedly. This same pattern also applies to playing chase and hiding in dark rooms and popping out at her.

Maddie wearing a BeeBee toga.

This book, Oh Baby The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss, is Maddie's hands-down favorite book right now. She totally gets the fun of rhyming words, and I think she really likes this book's small size and many tiny illustrations. "Oh Baby" goes everywhere with us--grocery stores, friends' houses, church, in the car, to the potty, etc. We often deliberately mess up the words when reading it to her and she will correct us--correctly--every time, which is saying a lot for a Dr. Seuss book! Hearing a 2 year old say "fizza-ma-wizza-ma-dill" is really quite great :)

Our beautiful daughter...

Happy 2010!

2010-01-05T14:31:00.000-08:00

We had a great time celebrating Christmas and New Year's with Kurt's family on New Year's Eve this year. I've decided this is the best way to make the most of the holidays--just extend them as long as you can so you can really soak up every moment! We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, as you can see:

Sharing a secret with Auntie Kari!

Playing with Baba's pens. Baba can always be counted on for such treasures as pens, magnetic name tags, and camera phones!

Making Kari "snuggie buggie."

Thrilled with her new line up of dress-up shoes! And Maddie was pretty pleased, too! (Ha!)

VIEW MASTER! I'm not sure who was more happy about this gift: Madelyn or Kurt and me!

Lately, this is how we find Madelyn in little spots all over the house (including the potty).

Madelyn feeling the beat and cutting a bit of a rug (to a song called "Bitty Boppy Betty" by Pink Martini about a cross-dressing DA. We think it's the irony and playfulness of the lyrics that really gets her going).

Wonderlust

2010-01-01T09:23:00.000-08:00

Just a shameless plug for a new endeavor I'm undertaking this year: writing. I adore writing and have dreamed of being a bonafide writer for years. Until someone else is willing to hire me, however, I've decided to hire myself...get a little practice, have a little fun, and learn from your feedback. Join me, then, at www.findwonderlust.com. I hope you enjoy!

"Mewy Tismas!"

2009-12-25T20:17:00.000-08:00

Another Christmas full of family, laughter, joy, warmth, and yummy eats. We are so grateful, especially in these moments, for all of our many blessings. We celebrated with my family on Christmas Eve, and we'll be celebrating with Kurt's family on New Year's Eve. Christmas morning was quiet and cozy with just us three. We marveled at the evidence of Santa's visit, played with new toys, baked (and consumed) chocolate banana bread (with peanut butter on top!), and snuggled while watching The Polar Express. Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Kelsie, Kristopher, Kurt, Madelyn, and me with my Grandpa Bickley--my last living grandparent.

Auntie Kelsie showing Maddie how it's done :)

Papa, Nana, and Madelyn.

Well howdy there, cowgirl! Madelyn feeling her oats in her cowgirl boots and hat. Seriously, could she be cuter?

My fabulous brother and sister.

Madelyn finally "got it" this year with respect to presents and how much fun they are to open and discover. We had a few meltdowns and cases of the "gimme's" and the "mine's," but overall she was grateful and happy and shared well.

Sneaking her second round of dessert off of Nana's plate, little rascal. But I suppose it's all in the name of Christmas :)

Drawing on her new art easel from Santa.

Sporting her new shades and necklace for her dress-up box.

So happy with her veggies and fruits for her play kitchen.

When the Bell Stopped Ringing

2009-12-19T20:37:00.000-08:00

WARNING: IF YOU ARE A CHILD OR HAVE A CHILD READING OVER YOUR SHOULDER, DO NOT CONTINUE WITH THIS POST. PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF CHRISTMAS, DO NOT CONTINUE READING THIS POST.

I am an eldest child, and growing up, my four best friends were also all eldest children (what are the odds of that, hey?). That probably created a lot of interesting play-date dynamics that I was way too young to understand at the time, but as it relates specifically to this post, it meant that none of us had any older brothers or sisters paving the way for us, telling us what to do and how to think, giving us the "low down" on how life really is, or spoiling any childhood myths and fantasies. Given that we were all in the same boat, each of us depended solely on our parents to draw the line between reality and fiction, and what kind of parent is going to sit their kid down at some arbitrarily determined age and tell them that, after years of elaborate and deliberate lying, Santa Claus doesn't really exist? (If you are that kind of parent, start saving money now for your child's therapy fund...) I was an imaginative and romantically-notioned child anyway, so the story of Santa Claus was absolutely plausible to me; I'm not sure I even thought to question it.

Join me, then, in an ordinary December afternoon in my fifth grade classroom. I imagine we had just finished math or reading and were in the process of putting our workbooks away when my teacher began passing out sheets of paper to each of us and told us that we were going to do a special project. I looked closely at my sheet of paper and noticed that it was handwritten and pretty poorly written at that. In fact, it was nearly illegible with incomplete sentences and slanting lines--a nightmare for a born grammar-snob/language-lover like myself. But I also noticed little candy cane and reindeer drawings in the margins, and the letter itself was addressed "Dear Santa." As it turned out, it was some kid's Christmas letter to Santa (a very young kid, I hoped). Just as I was wondering how this letter mistakenly got into my teacher's pile of papers, my teacher said "Today, class, we have the honor of answering Miss Johnson's Kindergarten class' letters to Santa." Huh. But...I mean...why would...well...why would I need to answer one of Santa's letters for him? I looked around at my classmates to share in a moment of confusion, only...they were all hunched over their desks, already busily at the task of answering Santa's letters as though it was the most normal, mundane task. My confusion was my own.

Well. No need to belabor the obvious. The wondrous, magic-filled story of Santa Claus slowly, painfully melted for me right there in the middle of my fifth grade classroom. I was genuinely devastated, and most humiliatingly, I couldn't talk to anyone about it because evidently EVERYONE already knew. I didn't even want to bring it up with my four best friends or my parents lest I find out I was REALLY the only one who didn't know and further make a fool of myself. It was a bitter Christmas for me that year. Sigh.

But alas. Here I am "elaborately and deliberately" perpetuating the very same story with my own little daughter because despite the disappointment that inevitably lies in her future, I think a little magic and a little fantasy does a child's growing soul good. And I know that at the end of the day, there's another far more important Christmas Story that will never disappoint...

Joy to the World

2009-12-16T19:58:00.000-08:00

Perhaps it's the storm outside or the betwinkled Christmas tree or the scented curls of the frosted cranberry candle on the mantle (or most likely a combination of all three), but I'm feeling especially introspective tonight. Lots of things tumbling around in my mind and swelling in my heart, and I'm just going to go ahead and share one of them with you. Makes me think of junior high sleepovers where I would unabashedly share my secrets from the safety of my sleeping bag and the cover of the night only to be back to my reserved, tight-laced self the next morning :)

I have been relishing in random fits of joy lately. Well truthfully, these fits have been occurring for the last two years--ever since Madelyn joined our family. I do not think I ever truly experienced joy before becoming a parent. Is that sad? I don't know. My personality tends toward the grave and somber, and frivolity and contentedness have never come naturally or easily for me. I think I was a happy kid and I certainly experienced wonder and chased adventure. My husband brought loads of desperately needed laughter and light-heartedness into my life, but "joy" was always a bit difficult for me to define. It was dazzlingly unmistakable, however, the first time I snuggled my little girl and has continued to ambush me with its chest-swelling, breath-catching, tear-welling self ever since then. Dancing with my daughter to a gospel rendition of "Lean On Me" (Glee!) next to the Christmas tree? JOY. Hearing her say--with delight---that she wants to do something because it's "just like Mommy?" JOY. Snuggling with her and burying my nose in her curls while she falls peacefully asleep? JOY. Listening to her correctly rattle off the twelve varieties of penguins from a book that we've had for only a few weeks when I swear there's been no coaching? JOY. (AMAZEMENT also accompanied the joy on this last one. Can you tell a Gentoo from a Chinstrap from a Magellanic penguin? Neither can I. But Maddie can! Interest + rapidly dividing neurons = frightenly fast information absorption.) I was trying to figure out the other day what makes these moments so joyful for me. I love Madelyn, of course, but I love many other people too. Lots of other things are cute and touching and amazing, so what's the big deal about these moments? The answer came to me while we were reading Max Lucado's "You Are Special." Punchinello has been made fun of his whole life by the other wooden people, so when he visits the woodcarver, Eli, and Eli tells him that he is special, he asks with genuine exasperation and confusion "Me? Why?" Eli responds, "You are special because you are mine." For me, I think it's as simple as that--she is mine. We are created to belong, and when we connect with those people to whom we belong...JOY.