For Grandpa

Well I guess it's about time I posted some pictures on this blog I've been neglecting. My sweet grandfather in Arizona (who never complains, as he reminded me), is starting to complain and has made some serious threats if I don't do something before the end of the month. So, punctual as always....I am putting up some pictures on this, the last day of September.

Here are a few highlights from our summer we haven't covered on the blog:

May/June

We enjoyed some wonderful family reunions during these months--a Weiler reunion in Pennsylvania in May and one in Charleston for the Heisses in June. I have a long, unfinished post I started about the Weiler reunion. I'm sure one of these days I'll get around to posting it, so I'll save the pictures for then....

We also planted a garden in May! I use the word "garden" to make myself feel good. Our garden consisted of three plants: a tomato plant (which we were given), a red bell pepper plant, and a basil plant. Our harvest to date? One delicious and beautiful tomato and one delicious and beautiful red pepper. Our basil has done pretty well. We've had it in salads and pasta and made one batch of yummy pesto. I could've harvested more of the basil, I'm sure, but I didn't always think of it. In fact, several times a neighbor of ours would actually come knock on the door and tell me something was ready to harvest. She would water the plants sometimes too. I suppose I ought to be embarrassed, but we have a really good relationship with her (mainly because she's a retired Montessori teacher and is in love with Abigail) and gardening is her big hobby. Plus I was morning sick. I can always use that excuse, right?

Erik and I have wanted to have a garden since we got married, but I always dismissed the thought since we live in a condo. However, when someone offered us the tomato plant, I decided we could use the space right outside our front door since we're the only ones who live downstairs in our building and no one would really care. So we bought the basil and pepper plants, along with several different herbs I forgot to mention (because they all died....), and thrust in our sickles with the intent to gain a little knowledge and experience and have fun doing something as a family. I am pleased to report that we met our objectives 100 percent, and we got a tomato, a pepper, and pesto to boot! So it was worth it to us. We did learn a few things from our mistakes, though. Most importantly, I learned that a desire to have a garden and happy visions of it being a unifying family experience will not yield herbs and vegetables. Next time, I need to do more homework and be consistent in tending the plants. Also, we will never try to grow cilantro. I just hope we always live near a farmer's market.

July

Erik became an official pediatrics resident at Emory on July 1st! It was only slightly anti-climatic since "orientation" started in mid-June. We are very proud of him. To say that he is working hard would be a gross understatement, but he's been cheerful and energetic (ok, except for post-call days...) and positive. I'm grateful for how hard he's working to be a good resident and provider for our family, but I'm especially grateful for his continued efforts to be a good husband and father. This month he's been averaging 75 hours a week (on night-float week, he was putting in 14-19 hours a day...or...a night...), but I complain about his schedule a lot more than he does. What a trooper! We love him so much and always look forward to the time we get to spend with him.....even if it's just for family prayer and bedtime songs at night.

July 16th--Happy birthday, Erik!
(He's still 25, in case you were wondering.) We enjoyed a nice dinner with his family to celebrate.

"Abigail, how many watermelon slices is that for you?"

Waiting to cut the cake...

August

Back to Seabrook! Erik's first week's vacation (he gets three a year) was in August, so we enjoyed another brief visit with his grandparents. Erik's cousin, Kaitlyn, also got to come down with them from Michigan (where they live for half the year), and she's wonderful with Abigail.

Here we are, on a very humid morning, at the original Charlestown Landing.
Fearless...

Cute little beach bum
Here's a delighted Abigail, swimming in a little hole daddy dug for her. Erik is in heaven at Seabrook. Brings back many pleasant childhood memories for him.
Abigail's not that into castle-building yet, but I'm sure Erik's enthusiasm for it will rub off on her some day...How do you like this Gothic masterpiece?

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So after a busy and eventful summer, things have settled down quite a bit here. Our pregnancy is going very well. For those who don't know, we are having another girl! We're thrilled that Abigail will have a sister close in age to her. I'm sure we'll all go through the normal adjustments once baby sister actually gets here, but right now Abigail speaks excitedly about being a big sister. Today she said to me out of the blue, "I love baby sister. Can she come out.....now?" She consistently tells me that she's going to "teach baby sister how to play with the dollhouse." And she can't wait to hold her.

As for baby sister's name, still pending....(read Erik won't cooperate!)

Although I don't get around to blogging about it much, I am loving life right now. Abigail is just delightful. Honestly, who came up with "terrible twos?" I'm not saying my daughter never does normal two-year-old things, but it's like saying motherhood is all about laundry and changing diapers. Those things come with the territory, but there are simply way more of the delightful aspects than there are of the mundane and dreary ones. I am just in love with my two-year-old. I think it's a wonderful and adorable age.

Our lives are very simple right now, and I am grateful for that. We stay busy taking care of Daddy and the house and the finances (it's so wonderful to have a paying job!! But how does it all go so quickly??). We stay at home together most of the time. One of my favorite parts of the day is reading with her. That's what she wants to do right when she wakes up. She brings a stack of books to me on the couch, and we cuddle up and read until she loses interest or until mommy's pregnant tummy can't delay breakfast any longer.

She loves playing "mommy-and-baby" games with whatever strikes her fancy or happens to be on hand--the usual baby dolls and dollhouse people and stuffed animals of course, but also pieces of her peanut butter and jelly sandwich, smiley face stickers, crayons and pencils, you name it. She also loves to sprinkle everything with pixie dust and fly around the room saying, "Off to Neverland!"

We also get to spend a lot of time with Abigail's favorite playmate/cousin, Clark. What a blessing for them (and their mommies!) that they live across the street from each other! My brother Caleb and his wife, Shannyn, moved to Atlanta in January, and it's such a treat to have them close by. Clark calls on the phone to talk with Abigail regularly, and they get together to play often. I think Shannyn and I both use each other's children as emergency escape routes when our own get too restless or bored at home.

Abigail holding cousin Jane (Clark's younger sister)
A very typical Clark-and-Abigail moment (can't remember why their shirts are all wet)
After making serious threats if they didn't cooperate for this picture. (They're wearing the Pennsylvania t-shirts my grandparents gave them after the reunion.)

With both sets of grandparents living only half an hour away, we spend a good deal of time over there as well. Sunday family dinners have become an informal tradition. What a blessing to have our families close by during residency! We sure have fun with them.

Last Thursday we took advantage of Bruster's "Banana Thursday"--half price on banana split if you bring your own banana. Erik got home "early" (before bedtime), so we had him with us. What a special treat! Ice cream and Daddy! Couldn't ask for more.

I'm including two little videos, mainly for a sweet Abigail-starved-great-grandpa who never complains...