a picnic with parker.

the weekend before i left for philly was the first really nice weather we've had in austin in a while (as i mentioned in the pumpkin patch post).  between naps - this was when we were still on two naps a day - we met up with wendy, david, and parker for some picnicking action.  wendy made yummy chicken salad and i brought some fruits and cheese and random other snacks.  we also brought champagne and toasted autumn in austin.  parker is a little over 6 months old now, so she and emme are getting closer to being interactive every day.  give it another year and i am sure ek will be showing her how to eat rocks with the best of 'em.  for now, p was not super excited at emme's "gentle" greeting.  we need to take advantage of this nice weather with many more picnics....

pumpkin patch.

yeesh.  i am still SUPER behind on blogging, but trying to get caught up over this weekend.

before i went to philly for work, we met up with alison, brian, and cameron at a neighborhood church pumpkin patch on sunday evening for some fall photo ops.  granted, it was still in the 80s or 90s here (maybe down to the 70s by this point in the day...), but there were pumpkins a-plenty and there was hay everywhere - a huge hit with the girls.  they climbed, gnawed, and banged on pumpkins to their hearts' content and we stuck them in a variety of pumpkin environments to take advantage of good light and infant curiosity.  quick note: even though ek is almost one and technically, i have heard, that will mean she's a toddler, i will insist on calling her an infant until november 7th.

anyway....emme was hilarious.  she was kind of sleepy, but was very interested in eating hay in particular.  we also let her slide down the slide for the first time (with me holding her).  she was wearing a dress that made her legs catch on the plastic, but i think she liked it all the same.  we also found an old wheelbarrow we decided to put the girls in for some pictures.  alison and justin deemed it the tetanus wheelbarrow.  we didn't keep them in there for very long....

sorry for the picture overload, as usual, but it is just such a fun time with her on all these new adventures.  for family members (and those that know my family well), please check out the intense hesterly face in the top picture.  i swear my dad and brother (and me, i will admit) make this face any time there is intense concentration happening.

june bug.

hi everyone,

i wanted to tie off on miss junie's status, and thank everyone again for all the prayers and support.  june's parents got to take her home last wednesday, only 8 days after her surgery.  this was a huge miracle, and i know everyone was SO glad to be back on their own turf.  we visited everyone on sunday and they are adjusting to life with a newborn so well, just like we knew they would.  june acts exactly like a normal newborn - you would never know she had this crazy surgery without looking at her chest.  she is healing like a total champ.  she is also nursing and making all sorts of phenomenal baby snorkles, which are two fantastic blessings, considering the likely complications the doctors had indicated.

as of yesterday, she was above her birth weight by nearly 3 ounces, so she is putting on the lbs.  she is super duper cute, with long gorgeous fingers and toes.  her family (especially grandparents) are making sure she has quite the ensemble - her dad told me today he's sure she will not have to repeat an outfit for at least the first year of her life.  ha! 

anyway, we are so thrilled to see our friends home with their little munchkin, where she belongs.  thanks again to everyone for rallying with support for this sweet family. 

away.

my baby.  this week i am in philadelphia for work, which means you are home with your daddy, flying solo.  i left before 5 tuesday morning, debating but ultimately deciding not to wake you to tell you goodbye.  these three days are the only days in your life that i have not been around to kiss your sweet face when you wake up, and tuck you in when you go to bed.  in fact, the hours i spend at work every day are the longest stretch i’ve ever gone away from you.  that just makes this separation even harder.  in any case, i will be home late on thursday night, so i’ll be there to see you first thing friday morning and i can’t wait, already. 

it’s weird.  lots of people i talk to relish time away from their children.  i don’t think this means they love their kiddos any less (of course), but it puzzles me to think that there may be a time when i will look forward to time away as well.  i’m sure it will come, as every other surprising bit of this parent/child evolution has come, in its own time.  a couple of months ago, i could not imagine you NOT being attached to my hip for all hours of the day, and already you are so independent – content to scamper off and explore your environment with me nearby, but not necessarily interfering.  anyway.  being away from you now, for this long, feels like i am missing a piece of my own flesh – which in a sense i guess i almost am?  i miss you a lot.  of course, since you’re not here, i notice every single child in your age bracket and it creates a dull ache in my heart.  we were able to video chat briefly on the first day, but you started to cry when it was time to say bye bye and i wasn’t in the room for real, so i think it may be better for both of us if we hold off….

***i wrote the paragraphs above while i was still in philly and never finished/published my post.  i just want to say that you and your dad both did an amazing job while i was gone.  i am constantly impressed, amazed, and delighted by your adaptability and your resilience.  and i am totally pleased and grateful for what an awesome daddy you have.  i can be so hyper-functional and overbearing, i forget what a good job everyone does if i stop trying to micro-manage the whole situation. 

i should also note that i got to have a nice dinner out with some co-workers at a place called barbuzzo.  it is not to be missed, for anyone who visits downtown philly.  share plates and delicious wine – here’s a pic of the goat cheese taster plate we had that nearly made me faint from delight. 

june news.

the best possible news we could have so far - june made it through surgery with flying colors.  she is still in ICU and hooked up to lots of tubes, but she opened her eyes this morning and squeezed her mama's hand.  such a huge blessing.  the doctors said the surgery went smoothly, and they were able to stitch her up, so more answered prayers there.  thanks to everyone for the support - we're praying now for a quick and easy recovery for that sweet bug. 

la croix.

we don't drink soda in our house (or, very very seldom).  but sometimes, you just want a little change from the water and coffee i subsist on.  enter la croix, a zero calorie, zero additive sparkling water beverage that is delightful.  we buy it at costco in the variety pack that has plain, lemon, and lime flavors.  on this particular evening, alison and cameron were over and all of us were snacking while feeding the babies.  justin was drinking a la croix and emme wanted a sip....

an update on june.

first of all, thanks to everyone who reached out with concern and good thoughts and prayers for june.  i had a chance to go see her and her parents at the children's hospital on saturday.  she is such a gorgeous baby and has a wonderfully sweet disposition.  she appears to be taking this whole situation in stride, and her mom and dad are tough cookies, though this is obviously very hard on them, as anyone might expect.  i told june that emme is very excited to meet her and teach her how to eat rocks and dog food, so she should hurry up and get better soon. 

the situation is that baby june will be having open heart surgery tomorrow.  the surgery is to repair an aortic coarctation (thinning of the artery).  several cardiologists have weighed in and believe this is the best course of treatment for her (surgery and of the open heart variety).  so, the things that we're specifically asking for are: minimal amount of time on bypass, no touching of the laryngeal nerve or vocal cords (specifically, we want june to continue to be able to nurse after surgery), a straightforward procedure that repairs everything that needs reparation, no complications, and that there will be a minimum amount of inflammation so they can stitch her up and she can begin the healing process right away. 

thanks again to everyone, i know the family appreciates it. 

eleven months.

baby girl.  on friday, you hit the eleven month mark, which means we are mere weeks away from your first birthday.  i remember last year at this time, your dad and i would walk the field with the dogs as the days were just starting to get nice and we could not contain ourselves over how anxious we were to meet you.  would you be a girl or a boy?  what would you be like?  who would you look like?  how would we be as parents?  of course, the answers to all these questions are still in development, but i think i can speak for us all when i say knowing you the past eleven months has been better than my wildest imagination could have dreamed up.

this month your speech has really taken off.  you jabber constantly and say several words with intention now, as well as lots of jibberish.  mama, dada, etta, dog, pippa, book, pool, banana, i know, turtle (only at the zoo, but i'm counting it), baby, wawa (i believe this is water, but you've only come out with it a few times, so i'm not sure yet).  you stick your tongue out and make fish faces now, too, which is hilarious.  you are really interested in teeth and facial features, and you can point out your nose when asked.  you're becoming only very slightly less obsessed with putting every single thing into your mouth.  you are a little demon in your walker - you can maneuver that thing all over the place.  you love to hold our hands and walk all over the house and yard.  you are super affectionate these days and will cuddle in to our necks and give kisses which basically means you smear your open mouth on my face.  i love it.

you are still a rock star sleeper, which makes me a little nervous for when you start school (in two weeks!) because they will slowly transition you to one nap.  for now, you're still doing two naps of around two hours a piece, and sleeping 11-12 hours at night.  it is quite amazing, although in my neuroses i wonder if it's TOO much sleep for your age....in any case, you are not one to dabble.  when you are awake, you are fully alert and all over the place.  when you are asleep, you crash out.  the same with eating - when you're hungry, you ravage food like an adult (seriously, how does someone your size consume the amount you do?); when you're not hungry, your mouth is like a clamp.  speaking of food, you've recently been really in to anything seasoned with cumin (i made some lentils in the crock pot that you loved, as well as carrots with cumin).  you tried shrimp for the first time and gobbled it right up.  you eat cucumbers and extra sharp cheddar cheese.  fruit is still your favorite thing, but you're quite fond of pretty much everything you've tasted and i love how curious and excited you are to try anything.

you're trying hard to figure out several things these days: stacking rings on a pole, nesting cups, and the idea of in and out.  you get frustrated when you don't get something right away (i wonder where you get that from....) and will either fuss about it or throw it aside.  i'm hoping to be able to teach you patience and perseverance and the virtue in the learning process.  you still favor your mama over anyone else, which i secretly relish since i know it will be a blip in the grand scheme of your life.  you can get super upset when i leave the room or head out for work, but you calm down easily with just a little re-direction (and if you're interested in something really cool, you hardly even notice when i say goodbye).

you still have only 4 teeth, but i am thinking we might see another one soon.  i haven't weighed you in a while, but i think you are probably close to if not right at 20 pounds.  i'm still nursing you, and even though i know i'll likely wean you (and you'll likely wean yourself) around the one year mark, the thought of ending it breaks my heart into a million pieces.  you only nurse in the morning and at night, and i pump only once a day now, but i have loved that special time with just you and me.  i'm sure i'll write a long post about it at some point when i'm feeling even more nostalgic.

you love your books and your animals.  you hugged pippa today and i thought your dad and i might pass out from the sweetness.  i don't know if you'll be walking by your birthday, but you sure do love to stand up and cruise.  you bounce and dance and laugh and squeal and hop and explore and clap and bring an unfathomable amount of joy to our lives.

i love you so much, little rabbit.

the zoo!

last weekend, justin's dad (grandpa browne) came to visit.  i had bought a groupon to the austin zoo several months ago, but given that it has been a million degrees for as long as i can remember, we hadn't made it yet, so we thought it would be a fun outing to take advantage of the lovely fall weather (yes, a high of 90 is fall here).  we started the morning at trudy's for brunch, then jb and his dad hit the natural gardener (this amazing outdoor/gardening place) while i hung in the car playing words with friends and relishing how cute ek is when she's sleeping.

when we got to the zoo, emme woke up and we plopped her in her stroller, where she remained for not very long because there was just so much to see.  the austin zoo is a sanctuary zoo, which means all the animals there have been surrendered or rescued.  it's so unfathomable to me that people think they should have these wild animals - the zookeeper we met told us a story about a trucker who bought a tiger cub at a truck stop because "he thought it would be cool to ride around with a tiger, until the tiger started eating his truck".  anyway, i'm so glad there's a place for these sweet animals to live when humans invade their natural habitats and ruin their instincts.  it's really amazing - you don't see giraffes and hyenas and gorillas like you might at a big fancy zoo, but you stand less than 10 feet away from pretty much every animal they've got.  there are probably 10 big, gorgeous tigers; lions; a black bear; an 18 month-old kangaroo joey; big, old turtles; a pack of wolf hybrids; tons of monkeys, and more.  the best part is that the zoo is super manageable - it takes about an hour or two to navigate the whole thing, but you can spend as much or as little time anywhere as you want.  there's also a big petting area with goats, llamas, deer, and sheep (including the blind baa baa black sheep i'm feeding in the picture below).

anyway...emme was mesmerized by the sights and sounds and smells.  she did lots of pointing and squealing, and she even said turtle like 5 times.  we finished up the adventure with a picnic lunch for emmeline on the benches.  she was interested in her grandpa's sno-cone, but contented herself with broccoli, avocado, turkey, and clementine.

please pray.

dear friends, family, whomever,

i'm not even sure who reads this blog, but i feel the need to put something out in the universe.  our close friends' baby who was born on friday has a heart defect and will be undergoing surgery soon.  i don't know any details other than that, but i want to ask that if you read this, you pray for june.  she is a strong little bug, as are her parents, but i can only imagine how terrified they are right now.  thanks. 

tasty treat.

this morning, emme was crawling around while jb and i got breakfasts and lunches together.  i picked her up to put her in her high chair for her strawberries and other goodies, and while i was holding her to get the high chair ready, she started spit-drooling on the floor (she doesn't spit up anymore, so this was super weird).  it took a minute before i looked directly at her and noticed her crunching on something.  i reached into her mouth and discovered a dog food pellet, thankfully with no real bites taken out of it.  any time she is on the floor in the main room, she heads in the direction of the dogs' food, so i guess it was only a matter of time.  hilarious.  i think she enjoyed her strawberries even more after that....

warming the house.

last saturday, we threw a little housewarming party.  there was hardly any notice (i think i sent out an invite on facebook about 10 days before...woops), but we figured 2 months just about exhausted the statute of limitations on when a house is considered ripe for a housewarming party.  if we'd waited until the house felt "ready" for a party, i am thinking emme would be nearing first grade, so we just had to make it happen.  

justin smoked two 15 pound (or so) briskets, and we made potato salad, mac n cheese, queso, baked beans, and bread pudding (i think that's everything...).  then mike brought over a pulled pork that he'd smoked as well as some delicious pork stew that was amazing.  we never really lack for food 'round these parts....

this was the first big party we've had with emme on the move, and there were babies and kiddos EVERYWHERE.  it was awesome.  you kind of don't realize how many kids there are until you see them en masse like that, and then it's like a wild daycare.  i love it.  i always wanted to have a massive family with tons of kids running around, but since that's not exactly how things turned out, it's really amazing to have friends that feel like family who we can play with.  

anyway...there were lots of people and lots of food, so we didn't do the best job of taking pictures (well, i never do a very good job of snapping pics, but justin had his hands full at this endeavor, so we don't have his usual on-point documentation of this event - he only got a few the first few minutes of the shindig).  but there are a few.  in any case, we really appreciated everyone showing up and spending the afternoon with us.  we look forward to many more parties and great memories in the new casa.