Another First

For those of you who are unfamiliar with The Way of the Hicks, let me enlighten you. Every yard has a charred circle somewhere where various unwanted items are discarded to be burned. When the pile is as tall as a man, it's time to douse it in gasoline, toss in a match, and invite all your friends. Usually, the occasion is accompanied by a sinificant amount of alcohol. For us more sober types, however, it becomes the quest for the perfectly browned marshmallow--crisp on the outside, gooey on the inside, no char. You know it's a good blaze when you here the sirens. Couches and chirstmas trees usually produces quite a show. We took advantage of the unusually cool weather and indoctrineated the bub.

And this one is for you Granny!

Here! Giant hungry caterpillars! Just eat the rest of it!

Oh, sometime about March, usually when I am sick of eating mealy, tasteless, store-bought tomatoes, and paying $2/lb. for them, I dream of a lush, green garden burgeoning with lucious fruits and veggies.

Come April, I delight in plunging my hands into the rich, dark soil

and gently nestling each tiny seed in its own spot of earth.

Then, I water, and watch, and pray.

Come end of May, time for transplanting outside, and my tiny sprouts still look pathetically frail, I pray harder.

Then come the thunderstorms and the weeds.

Weeding, weeding, always weeding. Weeding and watching. Watching as the buds come on and still dreaming of those juicy, ripe tomatoes.

Then, everything grows overnight.

Numberless cucumbers and beans are pulling down their trellises, hulking zucchini are lurking just under all those leaves, and then the tomatoes!

Oh the tomatoes! They are bursting their cages.

Endless legions of red!

I have pickled, boiled, blanched, and stewed,

and still the wagons, and baskets, and counters are full!

Now in the heat of August, I have lined them up on the front porch to sun

and secretly hope that a passing car will stop and steal them all.

If this doesn't happen, I may just begin to launch them into the street!

I would rather be doing this:

and a little of this:

New Skills

I was asked what do I do all day if I am not going to work.

We play...

in the tub...

on the bed...

The bub is learning to lift up his head and roll over.

He does not like performing for the camera

out on the hammock with Bailey...

Alright, so we take naps too...

Lots of naps!

We play peekaboo...

and we are learning to talk (and spit!)

We do get out of the house occasionally.

We love playing with our family!

Swimming, smiling, and stuffy noses

(Sorry, I didn't flip this before posting, so it looks like Ian is dangling from the air. HEHE)

This week brought hot weather and the bub's first swimming lesson. After 4 ton of sand and 18,000 gallons of water, Papaw Graf finally got the pool up. Ian took to the water like a duck. He didn't even mind getting his head wet. In fact, he tries to turn his head to the side so he can drink the water. Mom is so relieved. She doesn't know what she would do with a boy who didn't like getting wet.

We don't have any pictures from the pool yet. Balancing a slippery, wiggly, wriggling thing and not completely soaking the camera is not something I have accomplished yet. The bub has also begun to really smile, and mom has yet to catch that elusive picture. It usually comes in the wee hours of the morning just after a good feed. He stares at me contently with those big blues and then cracks the hugest toothless grin.

With the heat, came an increased pollen count. So, the weekend brought sniffles all around. The bub thought I was killing him squirting saline up his nose only to suck it out again and then pounding on his back and chest. I had to keep reassuring him it would make him feel better.

Yeah right MOM!

Daddy didn't feel good either. I think the bub is telling him that Mommy will make it all better.

.

Growing like the weeds in our garden

I love these little feet!

They are the longest feet I have ever seen on a baby.

He also has the uncanny ability to spread out his toes

--just like his mommy and his aunt Sariah.

Though he enjoys sleeping in mommy and daddy's soft bed,

he has successfully slept through the night in his own cradle.

On July 5, 2009, Ian was given a name and a blessing by his father. Derick's parents, brother and family, and Grandma Goldena came to see. All of mommy's family that could make it were there too. It was a beautiful day. Ian was blessed with peace, a desire to follow the Lord, and the Spirit to be with him all his days. He was also blessed to be a light to those around him.

He is definitely that to his family.

The bub blew out the back of his diaper. Mommy calls it the "Tectonic Bum."

Derick's Mom and Dad

Just for your viewing pleasure.

He makes the funniest faces.

The Perfect Day

Yesterday was one of those perfect days where you just fall into bed sleepy and satisfied. Even the bub. The weather had been scorching hot for the end of June, but this week brought a relief in temperature. Derick is off for two whole weeks for Summer shutdown. With temperatures in the 50s we were able to get out and do some much needed yard work. A recent string of thunderstorms has caused our garden to blossom, both with vegetables and weeds. I converted the wagon into a bed for Ian and wheeled him around with me. We have a stroller, but he doesn't seem to like sitting in it too well. Possibly the enclosed sides or the straps bother him. He loved sitting in the soft wagon-bed under the shade of the tree. (The heavy-duty plastic Radio Flyer wagon was a $5 steal at a garage sale we found just before Ian was born.) There was a nice cool breeze and he dozed happily. Dad was able to clean out the garage, till up some flower beds, and remove an ugly fence post from the front yard. Mom was able to weed a little, prune the zucchini and tomato plants, and put up a trellis for the cucumbers. Our garden has grown wonderfully this year. We put in garlic, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini, corn, green beans, snap peas, melons, and an array of herbs. Everything is taking off. Later in the day Mom and the bub dozed together in the hammock. (Another great find for $20 at Goodwill.)

Other news this week:

Yes, I turned 30 on Monday. I spent it taking Derick to have his wisdom teeth removed and nursing him in his Vicoden induced stupor. He is healing well. A year or so ago, I was dreading turning 30. I had not yet accomplished any of the goals I had had for my twenties, namely, getting married, having children, and finishing my degree. Like the true procrastinator that I am, I got them all in just under the wire. Bring on the third decade!

Attempting to write this while the bub is filling his pants before he realizes he needs a change!

So, I have a new goal. We don't have the Internet at home (I know!! tragedy!!). Actually, we came to the conclusion that it was a nicety not a necessity and too much of a temptation for wasting time. So, my new goal is to take the bub out to the library once a week use the computers there. This will begin the habit of going to the library that I hope will also foster in the bub the love of books my family so much enjoys. I can catch up on my emails and keep everyone posted on our weekly happenings. It won't be artistic or literary or even spelled correctly, but it will put a smile on at least my mother's face.

The delivery in a nutshell:
I broke down and agreed to Induction 6 days overdue. The clincher was that Derick would already be off for Memorial day and the my OB would be on call that day. I ate a good dinner and traveled down to the hospital Sunday night. The Pitocin was started at 10 pm. Real contractions started at 11pm. I had three big ones and felt a pop. Really... A Pop! I got up to pee and realized my water had broken. I was a little horrified when it was green, but tried not to let it show on my face as not to worry Derick. I knew that babies sometimes pass meconium and that everything usually turns out alright. Still, it was GREEN!! The nurse assured me that a NICU team was standing by just in case. Well, I went back to bed and was determined to breath through those labor pains and push that little guy out. After breathing and moaning for the better part of an hour, I began weighing the option of that epidural. I thought to myself that if I could just get some space between contractions I would be really be able to do without. The nurse, mom, and Derick kept reassuring me and telling me what a good job I was doing. Then, the donning realization that the nurse was ramping up that Pit in order to have my contractions come steadily 1 1/2 minutes apart. There was going to be no relief. Even if I could do it without the epidural, I didn't want to and I didn't have to! Once I made the decision, the anesthesiologist couldn't come fast enough. AAH! Sweet relief!

Sometime shortly after midnight the baby was showing decelerations in his heart rate, so they took me off the Pit. Then, apparently I was forgotten about for the next 2 hours. I am sure I should have been really upset, but I slept so soundly, I lost whatever feeling was left in the left side of my body. When the apologetic nurse came in around 2pm to check me she and I were elated to find that I had spontaneously begun to labor on my own and would not need to be put back on the Pit. After emptying a liter out of my bladder, I progressed rapidly and felt like pushing sometime before 7am. Even though it was shift change, my nurse stayed with me and we pushed Ian out in half an hour. Mom held one leg, the nurse held the other, and Derick counted staying near my head the whole time.

Ian presented with the cord loosely around his neck which would explain the decelerations. Derick deferred cutting the cord, so my mom got to do it. The NICU team was able to safely suction Ian's airway, and he was fine. They put him on my chest, he popped up his little head, and stared me right in the face. I was in love all over again.

Since then:
We have survived one month of feedings, diaperings, rockings, wailings, and burpings. I have come to the conclusion that despite all the reading and preparing, I have no idea what I am doing and I am just happy to make it through another day. Ian is packing on the chub, so I must be doing something right. If anyone has any suggestions for getting him to sleep in his own bed, I would be grateful. Also, if anyone can explain why he seems to want to nurse voraciously only to pop off the breast howling inconsolably. I have considered that there is something wrong with my breast, my milk, his mouth, or his belly. I am thinking it might be gas, but the gas drops don't seem to be helping. This is not all day every day, but it is very vexing in the middle of the night. I hope the doctor can shed some light at his checkup next week.

I am drunk on the warm feeling that washes over me when I am nestled snugly between the two most important men in my life and they are both sleeping soundly. I also love that magic spark that passes when Ian stares at me with those baby blues.