14 Months

Another month has passed, and Lucy changes every day! Here's what she's been up to this month.

Lucy:

• has gotten three new teeth this month for a total of seven (one on the bottom is being a little stubborn in poking through)
• is taking more interest in stuffed animals and "babies"
• is starting to climb on anything she can get her leg up on
• shows some reddish highlights in her hair again
  
• loves to play outside, especially to pick up sticks
• has a little summer color despite all the sunscreen...which hopefully means she has her mama's skin vs. daddy's
• still speaks in a language only she can understand, with a few exceptions
• finally figured out how to eat spaghetti noodles...and likes them
  
• enjoys the pool, but spends more time getting in and out of it than sitting in it
• likes to brush her teeth
• throws her hands in the air and says "gah" when something is "all gone"
• has learned how to turn around and back herself off of couches or chairs
• throws a pretty good fit when she doesn't like something
• thinks it's funny to climb up the stairs, even though she knows she's not supposed to with out a big person (since she hasn't figured out the "down" part yet)
• is highly entertained by any sort of container, and loves to empty them and fill them up

Ice Cream!






I love that last look..."Is it really all gone?"

Happy 17th Birthday, Brandon!

Dear Brandon,

SEVENTEEN. Is this possible? For some reason this seems so much more grown up than 16. Maybe that suits you, because I think you've grown up quite a lot this past year.

This was your first year at Hopkins High School, and you seem to have done pretty well. You pulled some great grades the first part of the school year, so you were finally able to take Driver's Ed! You're getting some good time behind the wheel, and I think you're waiting patiently for the six months to pass so you can get your REAL license. You also played rugby this year, which was a surprise because we thought you'd go for lacrosse. But rugby seems to suit you, even though you may not look like the stereotypical rugby player. The height and the red hair certainly made it easy for us to find you on the field. It was so exciting to watch you in the state tournament...and to see Hopkins WIN!! You had a whole cheering section of family there to support you. Dad was so proud.

The grades suffered a bit toward the end of the year, but I think you know how important it is to regroup and tackle your senior year with a little more focus. SENIOR YEAR. I know, I can hardly believe it either. The football coach has been after you, so we'll see how that plays out in the fall. It's going to be a very good school year for you, I can feel it.

The thing I have enjoyed watching the most over the past year is your relationship with your sister. She is at the point now where she reaches up for people, and when she reaches up for you it melts my heart. You are very patient with her (even when she tries to steal your pillows). It's just wonderful to see the two of you together.

A couple of weeks ago you started working at Target, and you seem to like it. Although you tell some weird stories about your time as a cashier, I think you enjoy the interaction with people and of course, making a little cash. I imagine we'll be having a car conversation soon enough. :)

All in all it's been a good year, and it's hard to believe that one year from now you will be 18...but we won't think about that so much right now. Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Love,
Jess

Reuniting With an Old Friend

A couple of weeks ago I took a road trip, and beforehand I asked Husband to burn me a CD. I didn’t care what was on it, I wanted him to surprise me - the present day version of a mixed tape. A little something to break up the monotony of highway pavement between here and Okoboji, Iowa.

He did well, serving up some standby favorites and some tunes I hadn’t heard in a long while. One of these was a Garth Brooks ditty called Lonesome Dove, a song that tells a story about a town on the Texas border, and inspired by a book of the same name which happens to be one of my all-time favorites. The Wild West tugs at something in me, it always has…and damn, I love that book.

This led me to start thinking (another hazard of long road trips) about the last book I read cover to cover, and I am ashamed to say I’m not sure what it was. I haven’t done much reading lately, and I can tell you pretty much exactly when my somewhat voracious reading habit stopped. It was around May 2009.

Which some of you may recall, coincides with the birth of my daughter.

Before she was born I was reading Ines of My Soul, by Isabelle Allende. I know this because I am one of those nerds who keeps a spreadsheet of the books I read. I had not finished the book by the time the book club meeting came around in mid-May, but I continued and was determined to finish. However, as some of you know, when you’re toting around a bowling ball encased in a bag of water, it can make you pretty tired. This didn’t leave a lot of time for reading anyway, and then the bowling ball decided to come almost 2 weeks early. I never did finish that book.

I have completed a couple of books since, mostly to satisfy my book club obligations (which is a loose statement – I’ve showed up many a time to discuss a book I had not finished or had not even read – it’s more about the wine and the company, and the wine). Other books I have started but not finished, which over my lifetime has not happened very often until now. I remember feeling relieved when we recently chose a book of short stories for book club, because I knew I could get through at least one of them. A couple of books over the past year is pretty sad for someone who had typically read a couple of books each month. Most of my reading has usually been before bed, but I just can’t do it anymore. I am so tired by the time I crawl into bed that I can barely keep my eyes open and end up re-reading the same page over and over. It takes me a week or two just to get through a magazine, let alone a novel.

All this being said, I do miss my books. Even though I think I don’t have time, on occasion I do seem to find myself messing around on Facebook or watching a repeat episode of Real Housewives of New Jersey (that show drives me crazy, why do I watch it?). That time could certainly be spent reading a book.

So for my foray back into the life of a reader, I went to my bookshelf and chose an old friend. Hello, Lonesome Dove. I’m thinking you, me, the hammock, and extended daylight hours can get this reading train moving again.

Wish me luck.