The McGels

Things I Want to Remember

2012-01-17T08:41:00.002-06:00

There are a bunch of things about Julian right now that I just want to remember, so what better place to archive them than our dear blog.

1. This weekend Julian finally switched from saying, "Mama, hold you," when he wanted to be picked up to saying, "Mama, hold me." I think he said the former because when he would asked to be picked up, I would ask him if he wanted "Mama to hold you." I have corrected him on occasion but never pushed it. This weekend when I told him that he should say Mama hold me, he just made the switch. Warms my heart and makes me nostalgic at the same time.

2. When he sings Baa Baa Black Sheep, he sings, "Baa baa black sheep, have you any woof?" This cracks me up.

3. This is how he sings Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star (and usually quite loudly):

Krinkle, Krinkle yittle sar
How I wonda whatchoo ah
Up above the worl so high
Yike a diamon Krinkle Kai
Krinkle, Krinkle yittle sar
How I wonda whatchoo ah

4. When he's pretending to be on the phone, he almost always says, "Hello, Tia!" (Referencing my friend, Courtney, who he calls Tia.)

5. He has started saying, "Aww, man..." when stuff happens that he doesn't like. This morning when it was time to put on his coat....Aww, man.

6. When we went to my grandmother's funeral during the holidays, we talked a lot about how this devout woman would often say, "O Lord," in her German accent. Julian has taken to saying, "O Lord" in my grandmother's German accent.

7. Julian says OK a lot, but as in the movie Princess Bride, Vince and I often say, "You keep using that word, but I don't think it means what you think it means." He will ask to watch a show (something on TV or online) and we will say no. He says ok, and then proceeds to whine about watching a show...or having a balloon...or getting his diaper changed...or whatever. He says ok like he understands, but then perhaps he's showing his disappointment.

8. I'm sure there's more, but that's about all my brain remembers at the moment. Thanks for checking in with us!

Happy New Year

2012-01-10T10:28:00.004-06:00

Christmas 2011

Sorry that we've been out of touch the last few weeks. The holidays and end of the school year were super busy. We didn't even manage to get a card out. So, I just thought I would post a picture of Julian from Christmas. We hope to be around the blog a bit more in 2012!

What we love about Julian...the two-year post!

2011-11-12T16:21:00.004-06:00

Every day, I am truly amazed at this little boy we have in our midst. Julian is super sweet, sensitive, and funny. He can also be raucous, loud, and whiny. But he is certainly a character. Here's an incomplete list of the things we love about Julian:

1. He can count to ten and say his ABC's, and we didn't teach them to him.

2. Whenever we pray at meals, he either claps when we say "Amen" or he won't let go of our hands because he has a few more people he'd like to pray for. And then he goes on and on and sometimes on naming people.

3. He's an amazing sleeper, and he still mostly goes down without too much trouble. Although he is fond of calling mama a few hundred times just in case I'd like to come back in.

4. He is super observant and wants to be sure that you've seen what he's seen. So, he repeats himself until you confirm (sometimes twice) that you too have seen it. School bus. School bus. School bus. School bus. School bus. School bus. School bus. School bus. And then it's more school bus. More school bus. More school bus. (He doesn't quite understand that we can't make more school buses, trains, ambulances, dogs, etc, appear whenever we want them to.)

5. He says "tank you much" whenever you give him something, do something for him, or help him in any way. And he does this without prompting. We're still working on "please."

6. He and Gumbo have found their love for each other. Gumbo finally has someone who will chase him around the table a million times without tiring....even when Gumbo finally gets tired too.

7. Julian is really coming into his own on playing alone. If he gets up earlier than we want to be up, we can put him on the floor in his room and shut the door and he'll play sometimes up to an hour on his own.

8. He loves to sing, and he picks up words pretty quickly now. Lady Gaga's The Edge of Glory is still a current fav, but he's also currently into the Blackeyed Peas I Gotta Feeling. He recently started ending the phrases with me when I sing him to sleep with Go to Sleep Little Baby from O Brother, Where Art Thou?

9. He's willing to share just about any toy, snack, or chair with someone who asks. Until he's not.

10. He looks you in the eyes and gives a sly smile when he's about to test your limits on something he knows he shouldn't do...and then he does it anyway.

11. He really loves his friends, his family, his "family," and people he encounters daily. He loves a good hug and kiss when you leave. Most people tell us that he is the happiest kid they know. We think so too.

12. He's an adventurous eater and isn't a fan of typical kid food. He'd choose cauliflower over chicken nuggets any day.

This is a small and definitely not exhaustive list of what we love about Julian. I could really write forever. It's awesome to see him learning and growing, being brave and being shy, being hilarious and being whiny. It's all a part of who he is, and we love him!

2 years old....already?!?

2011-11-10T21:16:00.005-06:00

I'm working on a longer post, but I know you've all been dying to see the two year old/Yoda photos.

In case you've forgotten, here's Jules at one month old:

And here he is at one year old:

Getting a two year old to sit still for a photo shoot is not too tough, but getting them to smile is another thing.

And don't worry. He's not all smiles. He is two afterall!

Cow and Boy

2011-10-23T21:08:00.003-05:00

Vince and I love the comic strip Cow and Boy. It's about a little boy and his best friend, a cow. They get into crazy adventures together. The boy often reminds us of Julian...in looks only, really, but we got some cute hand-me-down overalls from Casey and Sam, and we couldn't resist!

Cow and Boy by Mark Leiknes

Balancing the best friend

A little naked time

2011-09-10T16:45:00.002-05:00

Sometimes it's just a must.

Mommy's Shoes Are Loud!

2011-08-09T21:46:00.002-05:00

Click...Clack...

One of Julian's favorite books is quiet Loud by Leslie Patricelli. See this post for a reminder of the story. Julian found my shoes in the hallway and discovered that they made lots of fun noise on the hardwood floors. What a blast.

Twinkle, twinkle

2011-07-30T15:03:00.003-05:00

Julian loves to sing. Or rather he loves to have anyone else sing to him. In the last two weeks he has finally started joining in. Here's a sample:

Last week, we were in the car and Jules was asking for a song. So we started singing Old McDonald. Each of us took turns saying an animal name to sing in the song. Every time we pointed at Julian for his selection, he said duck. EVERY TIME...It was very cute and made me laugh.

On a side note...he doesn't just love children's songs. He loves any kind of music. If we're out somewhere and he hears music, he will point to his ear to signal for us to listen and then pump his fist in the air as he jams out. He also has a penchant for Lady Gaga and whenever you sing the song Bad Romance and you get to the "I want your love...love, love, love, I want your love" part he gives you multiple kisses!

So sweet.

It's coming...we hope!

2011-07-25T11:49:00.003-05:00

Sorry we've been out of the blogosphere for a while. We moved into a new apartment on June 30 (yea!), but we still don't have internet (boo!). We've been told that we will have internet at home on Wednesday of this week, but I'm at the "believe it when I see it" phase of this journey.

We have a few great pictures of Julian and our trip to the deep South, and there are a few videos in the queue as well. So, God willing and the crick don't rise, come back on Friday for some new content!

Weird Baby Stuff

2011-06-15T19:57:00.003-05:00

Some of you will remember that when Julian was probably 8 months old we went to the doctor because Julian was doing this weird thing with his head...almost like an involuntary twitch. Vince's aunt works for a neurologist, and he said it was probably WBS...weird baby stuff. Nothing to worry about really, just something that kids do from time to time that freaks well-meaning parents out.

I'm wondering if we need a second opinion. Thoughts?

Life with a Toddler

2011-05-25T21:52:00.002-05:00

Julian is a ton of fun! He's always on the move, and we are having a ball!

Julian didn't want what we had for dinner, so he had a cup of peanut butter instead!

BEST.KID.EVER!

2011-05-14T07:20:00.002-05:00

Early this morning (the morning after graduation when we are exhausted), we hear Julian saying, "Down. Down. Down." That's his sign that he's ready to get out of the bed or at least have someone in the room talking to him. So, Vince got up, opened the door, and said, "It's still sleepytime, buddy. Can you lay back down?"

And HE DID!!!

BEST.KID.EVER!

18 Months Ago

2011-05-10T20:43:00.003-05:00

Can you believe that this little guy...

Is now THIS guy?!

I love toddlerhood. Julian has such a great personality and every day he becomes a little more "him." He totally gets attitude, but he is also sweet and cuddly. Everyone always gets a wave goodbye or even a blown kiss. Some, like Yoda, get kisses.

He's totally observant and wants to make sure we hear every "zoom" (car, airplane, truck, pretty much any form of transportation), see every bird (or squirrel, dog, cat, anything with legs really), and he picks up every stick (or rock, flower, ball, dog poop - sad but true).

We are so glad to have had these 18 months with Julian. We know it just gets more and more fun as we go forward!

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T19:32:00.003-05:00

The day I became a mother was a wonderful day...hard, but lovely!

And it honestly gets better and better. I love being a mother to this precious little child. I couldn't imagine it any other way.

Today was a great day. I got cards from my guys with a gift certificate for a massage! Wahoo! Then we headed to breakfast at M. Henrietta's. I had a fried egg sandwich, which was actually much fancier than it sounds: toasted sourdough bread with gorgonzola cheese, tomatoes, bacon, two eggs over medium, topped with micro greens. YUM! Then off to the farmer's market.

After that the day was pretty much as usual: grocery shopping, cleaning the kitchen, a hot bath (unusual), and a little vegging. I may get the hem into the skirt I made months ago, so that I can wear it this week.

I love my family, and I'm excited to have many more Mother's Days to celebrate with them.

Shoes

2011-05-07T21:50:00.002-05:00

Julian loves shoes! I think it was his first word. Today, he decided to wear my shoes. The best part of this video is his facial expressions to himself in the mirror.

Not much is happening

2011-05-05T20:00:00.003-05:00

Julian turns 18 months old on Monday, so we will have some updated Yoda pics to share. But otherwise, not much is going on here. Julian shocked us the other day with some of his new words. Zipper is a favorite these days. He also loves to make all the animal sounds. One day I will catch it on video.

I promised a picture of Jules with Yoda and Moses, so here you go. Our friend Jonathan was in town from Boston, and he was staying with us.

We also bought a used bike trailer for Julian to ride in, and we went and got him his first helmet. It still needs a bit of adjustment, but he MUST wear at hat or helmet whenever one his people are wearing one.

Where did my little baby go?

2011-04-14T20:51:00.002-05:00

Remember this tiny guy?

He's more like kid these days.

Seattle...more pictures

2011-04-03T21:14:00.003-05:00

We had a great time in Seattle. One of the best parts was seeing family. My (April) mom flew in from Texas and stayed with us in the hotel for the first few days we were there, until we made the trek to my sister's. We mostly went to Pike's Place Market a couple of times per day and went to the Seattle Aquarium.

One of Julian's favorite words is fish. Although it sounds much more like shish. While he loves the fish, on this particular day, there was one fish that got a bit obsessed with him and kept trying to eat his buttons or something. He would move everywhere Julian would move. Needless to say, despite the layer of glass between them, Julian didn't care for it that much.

Mom and I took the ferry across Puget Sound to Bremerton, where my sister Mika picked us up. Julian got to meet his Aunt Mika and Uncle Tim for the first time, as well as his cousins Jon and Colin.

My two favorite moments during our trip were 1) when Julian was eating dinner and Jon was serenading us with his viola while Colin sat on the table make faces and 2) when we all played Rock Band and Julian really got into it.

Great trip.

PSA

2011-03-31T20:48:00.002-05:00

Don't text and drive...

Especially with a fruit basket on your head.

(Bridget...that's the basket y'all gave him for his birthday with the fruit in it!)

Trip to Seattle - part 1

2011-03-21T18:06:00.007-05:00

We had a great trip to Seattle for the AACRAO 2011 annual meeting. This group is the primary professional organization for college and university registrar's. It involves several days of small meetings and seminars on best practices in the field and solutions that people have found for common problems. Sometimes, it gets a little too big school centered, but I always learn a lot while I'm there. and of course, this year it was in Seattle, one of my favorite cities to visit. I may have to take a stab at living there sometime, but for now a visit is great.

There are so many things to see and do there. and the view is simply incredible (when it's not too cloudy!). One of the things I really wanted to do this time was to visit the Science Fiction Museum/Experience Music project. Yes, you read that correctly. They have a scifi museum and music museum all in one...a truly interesting experience (http://www.empsfm.org/).

Of course, my bad luck, the main scifi exhibit hall was closed for renovations, so I had to settle for the Battlestar Galactica special exhibit. but they did their best to make it up for me since it was the primary reason for my visit.

I did not really view the music stuff, but the sculpture in the entry way was quite amazing. It is a 35 foot tall tornado made up of hundreds of guitars.
And of course, there was Battlestar Galactica. I won't post all my pics here, maybe on facebook. but suffice it to say, it was a quite impressive collection of both the recent SciFi Channel series (I know they changed their name, but I refuse to acknowledge that ridiculousness beyond merely mentioning it) and the old 1978 series. Here are a few selected images.

And perhaps my favorite part of the exhibit was not even part of the exhibit at all. These signs surrounded every display. :-)

Stay tuned for more from Seattle. In our next episode: where will the concierge send our intrepid hero for good local food?

Julian's Crew

2011-03-12T19:47:00.002-06:00

Julian loves...absolutely loves...to read books. He chooses to read over just about any other activity right now. You can tell him to pick out a book..."Julian go get me The Little Blue Truck." And he runs right over to the shelf, grabs the aforementioned book, and brings it back to you to read. (I don't know if this is unique to other 16 month old kids, but it certainly shocked me the first few times he did it.)

Lately, though, he has started wanting others to sit with him while he reads...namely Yoda and Moses. (No, I don't yet have a picture of this phenomenon. I've usually been the one doing the reading. But don't worry; I'll get one soon!)

Yoda you all know from Julian's month-at-a-time pictures during his first year. (Yes, I'll post another one at 18 months.) Moses is a doll that our friends Joey and Maiko gave to Julian when he was born, and he's also the leader of the Israelites. Moses is actually a reversible doll. One side is Moses holding a staff and the ten commandments, but if you flip it over, you see Pharaoh's daughter holding a baby Moses in a basket. It's a pretty cool doll.

Anyway, one day about a week ago Julian grabbed a book and brought it to me. He no longer wanted to sit on my lap, but he begged to sit next to me. Fine. Then he started pointing to the window sill where Yoda and Moses sit. (Those two are always hanging out together. Spiritual leaders, you know.) I grabbed Yoda and sat him next to Jules, but that wasn't enough for him. Then I grabbed Moses and sat him with us as well. Julian looked over to them, then looked to me and smiled. He then settled in for the reading of Quiet LOUD.

We're heading to Seattle tomorrow, but when we return I'll try to get a shot of the three musketeers.

Mardi Gras

2011-03-06T22:00:00.004-06:00

Happy Mardi Gras!

Peekaboo!

2011-03-06T12:57:00.003-06:00

The Sweetest Face

2011-02-24T20:53:00.003-06:00

"Mom...I'm trying to eat a snack here. Why are you taking my picture?"

"Well, if you must take a picture, at least let me finish my bite."

"How's this?"

Is it weird...

2011-02-11T22:11:00.002-06:00

to miss your baby while he is sleeping?

Because he is, and I do.

Shiner

2011-01-31T20:16:00.003-06:00

Julian has been pretty lucky so far with accidents, meaning he hasn't had many.

But when he was on a walk with Gumbo recently, the leash got wrapped around the stroller and pulled it over.

Jules' face made good friends with the ground, and he got his first shiner.

He's such a sweet kid that he cried for a minute and then was over it.

Words

2011-01-09T20:17:00.002-06:00

Julian's words and sign language are getting more frequent and more recognizable. The signs he uses on a regular basis are milk, daddy, gumbo (dog), and eat.

His words include:
daddy
gumbo
cat
mama
bubbles
ball
balloon
shoes
bock bock (sound a chicken makes)
eye
nose
sweetie (his grandma)
bubba (grandpa)

I need to start writing them all down when I hear them. He will pretty much repeat what we are saying, but some of the words he uses on his own. It's fun to hear him chattering more. He talks quite a bit, and we love it!

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas...

2011-01-05T20:00:00.002-06:00

My true love gave to me, twelve...I mean...one drummer drumming...

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas...

2011-01-04T20:35:00.001-06:00

My true love gave to me, a little bit of penguin love...

On the Tenth Day of Christmas....

2011-01-03T19:47:00.003-06:00

My true love gave to me, a trip to the Shedd Aquarium...

On the Ninth Day of Christmas...

2011-01-03T19:42:00.003-06:00

My true love gave to me, a big fat lip and sore nose...

Julian has mostly been pretty balanced with his walking. The other day he was walking very quickly, and he tripped. He fell nose and lips first into the doorjamb. A bloody lip and a red nose later, he was just fine.

On the Seventh and Eighth Days of Christmas,

2011-01-01T21:47:00.004-06:00

My true love gave to me, some friends to play with JB...

Neighbor and good friend, Nora, and her son Henry who is five weeks older than Julian.

Having a grand time! (I love that Henry looks like he's riding a Harley!)

The Blonde and Blue-Eyed. It's something like the Young and the Restless.

On the Sixth Day of Christmas...

2010-12-30T22:33:00.002-06:00

My true love gave to me, a fancy puzzle dance...

We're not sure why, but Julian loves to dance on his puzzle pieces.

On the Fifth Day of Christmas...

2010-12-30T22:29:00.002-06:00

My true love gave to me, five golden bells...

Julian with the elephant bells at the Field Museum

On the Fifth Day of Christmas...

2010-12-29T19:24:00.001-06:00

My true love gave to me, a night off from blogging. Forgot to get a pic today.
:(

On the Fourth Day of Christmas...

2010-12-28T19:13:00.003-06:00

My true love gave to me, four snowy mittens...

On the Third Day of Christmas

2010-12-27T12:22:00.002-06:00

My true love gave to me...three hot wheels

On the Second Day of Christmas...

2010-12-26T22:00:00.002-06:00

My true love gave to me, two front teeth...

On the first day of Christmas...

2010-12-25T22:00:00.003-06:00

My true love gave to me, a boy who could walk free...

A photo update

2010-12-04T11:05:00.004-06:00

Julian had a visit from his GG and Grandpop (Vince's parents) on the weekend between Vince's and Julian's birthday. It was great to have them here, and Julian LOVED spending time with them.

We had a little birthday party for Julian the following weekend, and I made a monkey cake for our little monkey. I made a full-size one and a cupcake one for Jules alone.

This was his first taste of sugar. He wasn't sure about it at first but warmed up pretty quickly.

Yoda Pics: A Year in Review

2010-11-14T14:19:00.002-06:00

One Month - December 9, 2009

Two Months: January 9, 2010

Three Months: February 9, 2010

Four Months: March 9, 2010

Five Months: April 9, 2010

Six Months: May 9, 2010

Seven Months: June 9, 2010

Eight Months: July 9, 2010

Nine Months: August 9, 2010

Ten Months: September 9, 2010

Eleven Months: October 9, 2010

Twelve Months: November 9, 2010

Julian's One! The Pictures

2010-11-11T20:09:00.004-06:00

It's almost hard to believe that one year ago, we brought home this adorable little boy. After 9 months of waiting and 30 hours of labor, little Julian Blake was born at 3:09 a.m. on Monday, November 9.

And now look at him. What a handsome boy (he takes after his dad). Can you believe this is the same kid? Look how big he has gotten!

After all those pictures with Yoda throughout the year, it seemed only appropriate to get him next to Yoda in his Halloween costume.

"When last we met, I was but a learner. Now I am the master!" I'm outta here, Yoda!

Will the real Jedi Master please stand up?

And of course, dad needed to get his geek on, too. Not quite a tan tank top, but, really, we are all better off that way. :-)

Happy Birthday, monkey! We love you very much!

Julian's One! Pictures to come

2010-11-10T09:20:00.001-06:00

I just wanted to write a quick post to say that our dear baby (sigh) turned one yesterday. We got some cute pics to post, but I had a chiropractor appointment last night and didn't get to it. I will post later this evening.

Pumpkin Fun

2010-11-02T20:48:00.005-05:00

Reading my friend Erin's blog, she's always getting her little one (5 weeks younger than Julian) involved in some crazy dirty projects. Taking a lead from her, we decided to get a pumpkin and allow Jules to have some fun!

I'm not quite sure how he felt about it.

Gumbo just wanted to eat it!

I tried to post a video, but it's not working. Maybe soon I'll figure it out!

11 Months Old (for one more week!)

2010-11-02T20:41:00.002-05:00

I thought I had better get his 11 month pics up before next week since he turns one next week (much to my chagrin!)

These were actually taken a couple of days after his 11 month birthday.

Because we were visiting friends in Detroit.

Here's Julian with Yoda on his actual birthday in Detroit on his godparents' chair.

And here's our little character!

Foto Friday

2010-10-01T17:35:00.001-05:00

Julian enjoying some naked-baby time, but mama deciding to preserve his pride.

10 Months Old!

2010-09-13T20:00:00.004-05:00

Julian was 10 months old on September 9. He had a bit of a cold, hence the bright red nose.

I'm starting to think that I should do his photo shoot at night when he's sleepy, in hopes that he will sit still one of these days!

Most of the pictures are of his back while he's trying to eat Yoda's face!

Or trying to crawl over Yoda to climb over the back of the chair.

Here's the best one!

Foto Friday

2010-08-27T06:15:00.002-05:00

What you can't see is that, behind Gumbo, Julian has his hands on Vince's VHS copies of the original Star Wars Trilogy. Vince is so proud!

Foto Friday!

2010-08-20T07:42:00.002-05:00

Nine months on the nose!

2010-08-09T20:47:00.004-05:00

Despite last month's debacle (posting his 8 month pics three weeks late!), I was motivated to be on time this month. Julian is nine months old today!

It's tremendously hard for me to believe that he has spent an equal amount of time in the outside world as he did in the inside world. I have a hard time remembering that wee babe that we brought home.

And that he has grown into this funny little human.

I know I've spent plenty of time talking about his cuteness, but he's also a total charmer. And Julian, here are some things that I love about you.

1. You always wake up in the morning happy. You don't cry to get out of bed. You just lie down and babble, talking to your bear and your blanket until we come and get you. And sometimes, you even fall back to sleep.

2. You eat anything we put in front of you, and you let us know that you want more food you can pick up and feed yourself.

3. You growl when you are frustrated, and then smile at your racket!

4. You have a ministry of smiles every where we go. (We had three tables of people after Sunday lunch thank us for bringing Jules to the restaurant!)

5. You go down for naps and bed without a fuss. You just climb in your crib, roll onto your belly and snuggle in. You even sleep through the night like a champ!

6. You prefer to have the paci upside down in your mouth.

7. You dance whenever music comes on, and you sing back to me whatever I sing to you.

8. You pat the kitties and the puppy with reckless abandon.

9. You follow me into the kitchen and like to hang out while I cook.

10. Every now and then, you still let me cuddle with you before bedtime.

11. You giggle when daddy touches your nose and says, "boop," but you don't when mama does it.

12. You are fiercely independent, except when you're not.

Happy birthday, little monkey!

Foto Friday (on Saturday)

2010-08-07T21:48:00.001-05:00

No watermelon is safe! (Look at that juice dripping down his arm!)

8 Months Old!!! (three weeks ago...oops!)

2010-07-29T21:11:00.003-05:00

Julian is nearly nine months old. He has almost lived as long outside my body as inside. And yes, we did actually do his eight-months photo shoot on July 9th, but it's just taken his lame mama this long to post them. Enjoy!

That funny patch of hair on the side that is sticking straight out...it does it all the time. It's not bedhead.

Foto Friday

2010-07-23T18:41:00.002-05:00

Thanks for the postcard, Sweetie!

It's delicious!

A Day at the Pool

2010-07-04T20:36:00.004-05:00

We have a little baby pool in our backyard, and Julian's good buddy Brennan came over to hang. They didn't really interact much, except when they both wanted the same toy. Even then, it was more like, "what's that other kid doing with my toy?"

Julian looks a little crazy in his hunter-esque hat, but it kept the sun off our uber pale kiddo.

He is truly a water baby!

Gumbo had a good time too!

JB and the Glamour Puss

2010-06-28T19:12:00.002-05:00

We never thought that Julian and Pandora would get on so well...

Happy Father's Day, Vinny!

2010-06-20T14:05:00.004-05:00

Happy Father's Day, my dear one!

Thank you for all you do to be a great father for our family. For every late night Gumbo walk. For every litter box clean up. For all the laundry and watered plants. For paying the bills and sweeping the floors. The little things around the house are big things to me!

(Julian on his chest and Dora, Luna, and Gumbo all around!)

For the way you love our son from the moment of his birth through the tough and easy moments. He has a wonderful role model in you, and I have the perfect partner.

Thanks, babe!

Seven Months Old

2010-06-15T07:50:00.006-05:00

I feel like each time I post Julian's monthly pictures, I can't believe that he's growing up! I have a hard time remembering when he was so small and his cry was filled with newborn intensity. He slept all the time and was pretty much a lump. But that's natural for newborns.

Julian is super active these days. If you put him down on the floor, within seconds he is no longer where you laid him down. He rolls with great intention. He can mostly sit up on his own. He wants to roll off of every surface, especially the changing table.

(Most of this month's pictures looked something like this!)

(Or like this)

But we did get a couple of good ones!

Happy 7th month, little monkey!

Quiet and Loud

2010-06-09T17:04:00.003-05:00

Today is Julian's 7 month birthday. We promise to have Yoda pics up soon, but here's a little something to savor until we can get those posted.

Julian absolutely loves to read, especially books that have noises in them, singing, or any excitement really. This is a new favorite, and he reacts the same way every time you read it.

And now for an interpretive reading of Quiet LOUD.

Foto Fridays

2010-06-04T19:00:00.003-05:00

Taking a cue from Sydney's blog (she does "wordless wednesdays"), I'm going to try and add a photo every Friday...especially for those times when I just can't fit blogging in. Like right now! So, here's the first installment of

FOTO FRIDAY

Eighth Sunday of Easter/Pentecost ~ The Doors - Light My Fire

2010-05-23T16:17:00.003-05:00

Well, here we are on the final day of the Easter season. This is the day that Jesus had foretold when the Holy Spirit would come upon his followers. And for those who were there that day on the first Christian Pentecost (for it was already a Jewish festival at the time), it must have been quite a confusing experience. They knew that Jesus had promised them something, but they were not quite prepared for what actually took place. They were again gathered together, as had become their custom, when the wind began to blow and what looked like tongues of fire came upon each of them. And then they were able to understand each other speaking, regardless of the language actually spoken (Babel undone, see Genesis 11.1-9). Language ceases to be a barrier to the mission that Christ has left to them. Through the Spirit, there is nothing that cannot be accomplished in the mission of Christ.

As I started this season with an irreverent take on the resurrection (see Chumbawumba on the Easter Sunday post), I decided to end with a slightly irreverent take on Pentecost. As we think about what is happening in the Pentecost story, we can imagine the disciples singing this song to the Holy Spirit - "Come on, baby, light my fire." The disciples would certainly have been lying if they had thought that they could not get much higher. But Jesus had promised them that they would do even greater things than he had accomplished.

Of course, the jury is still out on that one, though there are certainly signs that the big-C "Church," the universal church of which all Christians are a part, is finally beginning to remember what it means to be the Church. The Holy Spirit is still at work within us and we are finally starting to pay heed to the mission that Christ left us. That mission is not about building membership, but building disciples. It is not about those who are within, but those who are outside. It is not about serving those who are well, but those who are sick. It is not about finding those who are already here, but those who are lost.

Come on, Spirit, light our fire!

Seventh Sunday of Easter ~ Collective Soul - Shine

2010-05-17T20:14:00.004-05:00

As we approach the end of the Easter season, we find that we are again breaking out of the chronology of events as outlined in the gospels. After all, if Jesus returned to heaven on Thursday and Pentecost is coming next Sunday, how can we have Jesus praying to God on behalf of the disciples? Much as Jesus' words from a few weeks ago relating his return to heaven actually occurred before his death, so these words actually come before his death. But they fit here as we continue to try to understand what this whole Resurrection thing means.

In particular, Jesus' prayer this week follows up on the events of the other gospel tales related in the last two weeks - Jesus' promise of the Holy Spirit, the gift of peace, and the Ascension. It's kind of like the story arc in a good mystery novel - we had the climax of the story with the Resurrection and now we're building towards the part of the story where everything comes together to finally make sense. Along the way, hints are dropped to suggest what is to come - the coming Spirit, the gift of peace, Jesus returning to heaven, and now Jesus beseeching God for unity among the disciples. All of this points towards what is to come next week.

But let us not get ahead of ourselves. Perhaps if we feel the need for chronology, let us say that we are remembering the words that Jesus has spoken to us. We are again in the midst of expectation. Jesus has promised to send an Advocate, he has offered us a peace that surpasses any understanding the world can offer - and then he left. As we wait, we remember Jesus praying to God that we would be untied with each other and part of the divine mission that he had begun.

Turning to the song from Collective Soul (check out the full lyrics here), we could imagine the disciples responding with these words. The disciples are looking for a word or sign from heaven. They recognize the presence of love in the world around them. And then they ask to be shown not only how to speak, but how to share. Heaven let your light shine down!

The Ascension ~ Ben Harper - Amen, Omen

2010-05-14T06:06:00.003-05:00

In the liturgical calendar, the Ascension falls forty days after Easter Sunday. Technically, that means it always falls on a Thursday, but many Protestant churches that celebrate the Ascension move it to the Sunday immediately following. Whenever it is celebrated, this is the day that we focus on Jesus' being taken up to heaven after spending some further time with disciples following the Resurrection. In some ways, the theme for the day is always about goodbyes - Jesus really is leaving this time. He has made a promise to send another, but the one whom the disciples have known, have traveled with and shared meals with, the one they call Teacher, is leaving.

This is quite a bittersweet moment for the disciples. On the one hand, this plays into the imagery of the prophets of God being taken bodily to heaven rather than dying. It is yet one more confirmation of who Jesus is and the truth of the things that he taught. On the other hand, Jesus is leaving (again) and giving the disciples a mission to carry forth in his name.

This last point is of interest as we consider the words of the angels as written by Luke in the book of Acts. As Jesus goes up into heaven, the disciples basically stand there watching. I'm sure their mouths were hanging open in disbelief as they continued to be amazed by this one that they had followed. Two angels appear and ask, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking up to heaven?" I think this is a reminder, in some ways, of the Transfiguration. At that time, the disciples who had traveled to the mountain top with Jesus wanted to stay there worshiping him instead of returning to the valley below. In the same way, the disciples stood staring, still thinking that Jesus himself is the point of all they have learned. The words of the angels come as a gentle reminder that the point of everything that Jesus had taught was to care for those in need, to feed the hungry and heal the sick - not to stand around staring up at heaven to see what is going to happen next.

I think that this song by Ben Harper really gets at what the disciples must have been feeling as they stood there that day watching Jesus go up to heaven. In some ways, the first verse includes words that could easily have been used by the disciples - "I don't know where you came from and I don't know where you've gone." This describes some accounts of the disciples to a T as they are regularly said to never truly understand what it is that Jesus is about.

The song's refrain in particular, speaks to the renewed sense of loss the disciples must be feeling as they watch Jesus go away. "Amen, Omen, Will I see your face again? Amen, Omen, Can I find the place within to live my life without you?" The disciples are still looking at this as goodbye, forgetting the promises of the other to come, the Holy Spirit, the Advocate.

But we can even find a reference to the coming Spirit in the song as he sings in the final verse, "I put your world into my veins." This is a pretty good description of how the Spirit comes into us to strengthen us. As we receive the Holy Spirit, it is like putting Jesus' world into our veins.

Official Stats

2010-05-11T08:46:00.002-05:00

The official word is in. Julian (at his six month check-up):
weighed 16.1lbs
was 25 7/8 inches long
and is in the 50th percentile for height and weight.

On another note. He got two shots and an oral vaccine on this visit, and he did the best he's ever done. Cried a bit, but was easily comforted. So awesome! His leg was pretty much sore all night, but he's doing great this morning. Good job, buddy!

Sixth Sunday of Easter ~ Carl Thomas Gladstone - Mother Jesus

2010-05-10T16:20:00.002-05:00

On the sixth Sunday of Easter, we focus on Christ's gift of peace to the disciples. What does it mean to have peace? Is it the absence of war, the absence of disagreements, where everyone is treated exactly the same and there are no recognizable differences? There have certainly been those who have sought peace of this kind throughout history. Ironically enough, they have also often thought that waging war was the way to get there: Peace through superior firepower, as the saying goes.

But is that really peace? Is that what Jesus meant? It seems that the peace he is referring to is something different. After all, we know from the writings following the gospels that the followers of Jesus did not have it easy. I think that our clue here is that Jesus promised peace, not safety. There is peace in knowing that one is working for a good cause. There is peace in meeting the needs of others. There is peace in saying no to violence, even in the face of death. There is peace in finding a way to live without having to destroy the livelihood of others.

This week's song has multiple layers of meaning for us. April and I began dating while we were taking a medieval female mystics class together. One of the last mystics we read that term was Julian of Norwich. She was an English anchorite attached to the church at Norwich. One of her visions was of the world the size of a hazelnut being held in the palm of Christ. She also had a tendency to use female images when speaking of Jesus, hence the title "Mother Jesus." And she is the namesake of our son.

The words of this song come out of her poetry. They have been set to music by a friend that we went to seminary with; we asked him to sing this song at our wedding. I can't think of a better way to think of peace than to remember these words - "All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well."

Fifth Sunday of Easter ~ Indigo Girls - Love Will Come to You

2010-05-10T14:56:00.003-05:00

Well our theme for the fifth Sunday of Easter was Jesus' promise of the Holy Spirit. As Jesus is preparing to leave, not only does he promise to always be with us, but he promises to send us an advocate. This advocate, the Holy Spirit, will come to us to strengthen us that we may continue the work that Christ began.

For this theme, I turn again to the Indigo Girls. Though I myself am a fan of the Indigo Girls, I must confess that the songs that appear both in my previous list for Lent as well as this song come courtesy of April. Whenever I get stuck finding a song to go with a particular theme, I know that I can turn to April, give her the theme and any ideas I have, and she can name an Indigo Girls song to go with it. She actually had two songs for this theme, but I settled on this one.

This song speaks to me of loss and the comfort offered by another. It speaks of the promise of love and the multiplication of that love. If we look back in Christian theology, we can find references to the Holy Spirit as the personification of the love between the other two persons of the Trinity. In fact, the Holy Spirit has even been referred to as the kiss shared by the Father and the Son. At any rate, this love spills over to humanity, that we may know something of that divine love and therefore share that love with others.

When Jesus is promising the coming Spirit, he is speaking to the divine love that will be shared with all of his followers. This divine love is still present and at work in the world, inviting and embracing, teaching us how to be with one another. Love truly does make the world go around!

Six months already?!

2010-05-09T20:51:00.004-05:00

That's right, folks. Julian is six months old today...on Mother's Day. He is growing bigger and bigger each day. So, let's start with a one month picture to compare:

And now here's Julian's six month shot:

Can you believe this guy? He's getting soooo big. We'll get the official stats tomorrow, but he's almost as heavy as Gumbo!

Julian and his sweet dad gave me a lovely James Avery charm bracelet for Mother's Day with a monkey charm.

Although we called him Jellybean in utero and intented to keep the nickname, one day Vince called him chunky monkey. (Actually, he was singing it to the tune of Beyonce's All the Single Ladies, but that's besides the point.) The name got shortened to Monkey (so as not to scar him!), and the nickname stuck.

He'll eat anyone's toes he can get his hands on!

Fourth Sunday of Easter ~ The Cure - Lovesong

2010-05-01T20:29:00.003-05:00

On the fourth Sunday of Easter, we look back to an earlier point in the Gospels to Jesus foretelling his departure. Though these stories take place before the events of Jesus' death and resurrection, they are retold here as we approach the Ascension - Jesus' bodily return to heaven. Though Jesus has been raised from the dead he does not remain for long. He must return to heaven. He has shown us the way, and now he must move on.

As I considered the bittersweet tone of this, I was reminded of this song by The Cure. Having gone through my own angst filled years listening to this song, I could recognize the depth of love as well as the pain of impending departure. As the refrain says, "however far away , I will always love you; however long I stay, I will always love you; whatever words I say, I will always love you; I will always love you." In these words, we hear the pain of the parting that will occur, but also the love that will not end and will continue no matter how far apart we may seem to be. This is Christ's love for us - even we we feel alone and feel that Jesus is far away from us, his love for us never waivers. Thanks be to God!

Third Sunday of Easter ~ Edie Brickell & New Bohemians - Love Like We Do

2010-05-01T19:47:00.005-05:00

So, I recognize I have gotten a little behind here. My apologies to those of you who actually pay attention to what we do here. The last couple of weeks have been crazy. Two weeks ago, I put April and JB on a plane first thing in the morning and then preached at UCRP. Two days later, I got on a plane myself to fly to New Orleans. Got back last Sunday late in the evening and then had interviews at the seminary most of the week. But anyway, that's not why you are here.

On the third Sunday of Easter, the focus is on Jesus appearing to his disciples. This year, we read about Jesus appearing to Saul/Paul in Acts and then we read a story of Jesus appearing to some of the disciples while they are fishing in the Gospel of John. There are two great pieces to the story in John. First, we have Peter getting so excited when he sees Jesus, that he actually pauses to pull his clothes on before jumping into the sea. Though there had been rumors that Jesus had appeared to others (such as Mary Magdalene and the two from Emmaus), Peter becomes so flustered that he can't think straight. Instead of immediately jumping into the water to swim to shore, or disrobing as many would do so as not to get their clothes wet, he actually re-dresses before jumping in.

The second great thing here is the conversation between Jesus and Peter after they have eaten. Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him and when Peter responds each time that he does, Jesus tells him to care for his sheep. To express his love to Christ, he has to care for others, to continue the ministry that Jesus had begun. This same thing holds as true for us today as it did for Peter nearly 2,000 years ago.

Turning to our song for the week, I am tempted just to post the full lyrics here. At any rate, the song begins with a recognition that life is now better than the days just left behind. That could be something of understatement, from either point of view in our Gospel story. The second line is just as profound - "What's mine is yours and what's yours is mine." This speaks directly to both our inheritance in Christ and our call to continue his mission. Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ, "any time...is good enough when we love like we do".

Full lyrics:
Love Like We Do
music and lyrics by Edie Brickell
(from the album Shooting Rubber Bands at the Stars)

Life is better than the days behind
What's mine is yours and what's yours is mine
No aggravation that we can't get through
A situation for the lucky few

And everyday is just a little more
Of time together to be happy for
I'm happy even when the times are rough
'cause anytime with you is good enough
when we
Love like we do

I don't believe in hatred anymore
I hate to think of how I felt before
When anger overwhelms your very soul
It's hard to realize you'll ever know
Love like we do

Five Month Old Jedi

2010-04-13T21:10:00.004-05:00

I'm having a hard time believing that my little baby is already five months old (on April 9). In fact I wondered why the three months clothes I bought didn't fit him well. Clearly, I'm in denial.

Julian is a super sweet kid. He's generally very happy and is always smiley. Even when he was sick earlier in the month, he was still such a trooper.

He is totally into what's going on around him, especially the dog and cats. They are his favorite to watch run and play through the house.

I have a ton more pictures we've taken this month, but haven't had a moment to post this month. Here's one for fun...drunk Jedi...on milk, of course!

Second Sunday of Easter ~ Paolo Nutini - Rewind

2010-04-12T17:02:00.002-05:00

On this Sunday, we tend to focus on the doubt of the disciples. In particular, we usually look to "doubting" Thomas. But I prefer to think he is merely the one whose words we hear. In some ways, his is quite a mature reaction to the Resurrection. He does not allow himself to be swayed by any sort of emotional appeal or sentimentality; this is a faith that is as easily swayed as one's emotions. Nor does he say that he is unwilling to believe the truth of the claims that are being made about Jesus' Resurrection; this would have been a total rejection of all that Jesus had shown them and taught them.

Instead, I think his doubt is based as much on a lack of perceived change as anything else. If Christ came to change the world, to usher in God's kingdom, then where is it. But on the other hand, his doubt is also based on an inability to accept that change. The Resurrection is not a simple resuscitation; the disciples had seen those. Rather it is at once the proof of all that Jesus had lived and taught about God's kingdom as well as the realization that it is not yet here.

While struggling over all that is encompassed here in the disciples' doubt, I kept hearing the words of Paolo Nutini's song in my head. He sings of his inability to sleep at night and the refrain keeps repeating "Why can't we just rewind? Why can't we just rewind? Why can't we just rewind?" This is where I see the disciples in those early days following Jesus' death. On the one hand, they know that Jesus was taken away and killed as a political traitor. On the other hand, these stories are now circulating that he is still alive. Wouldn't it just be easier to go back to where things were before the Crucifixion? Why do things have to change? Why did Jesus always expect more from them than they truly understood? Now they feel as if they are left to pick up the pieces that have been left behind.

Who can blame them for their doubts?

Easter Sunday ~ Chumbawamba and Alanis Morissette

2010-04-04T06:34:00.005-05:00

Christ is Risen!

This is the joy of Easter - it turns out that there is a better tomorrow! And interestingly, the men who were following Jesus were not the first to find out. They had scattered, gone into hiding, lest they be next on the cross. But the women who had been with Jesus, they headed to the tomb to be sure Jesus was properly taken care of. Of course, we have the luxury of recognizing that Lazarus' sister, Mary, had already prepared Jesus for burial when she poured perfume over him a few days ago; but Jesus' followers did not yet know that.

While getting my haircut last week, I heard "Head Over Feet" playing on the radio. As I listened to it, I began to think about the reaction of the Mary's, particularly Mary Magdalene, as they visited the tomb before dawn that Sunday morning long ago. How do you react to the one who was dead, the one you have followed for years, the one whose teachings have totally changed your outlook on life? How do you come to terms with something as irrational as Jesus again standing before you? They clung to him and wanted to stay with him. Instead, Jesus wasn't quite done with the lessons; he sent them with a message and the women became the first evangelists (in the true sense of the word), the first to spread the good news of the Resurrection, the first preachers, if you will.

I will admit that "Tubthumping" was a late entry to this list - and a bit of an irreverent take on the Resurrection. But you have to admit the catchy refrain does speak to this rather well. Can't you just imagine Jesus walking through the garden that Sunday morning singing, "I get knocked down, but I get up again, you're never gonna keep me down." Well, I bet you can now! Enjoy having that song stuck in your head the rest of the day.

Christ is risen indeed!

Songs for the Journey: Easter

2010-04-03T18:46:00.008-05:00

A little over two years, ago, I began a musical journey through Lent. You can see the original post here, which will give you a little idea as to why I started that journey.

Much as I guessed at the end of that post, it has taken me two years to put together another list.

Sometimes the hardest part of these lists is figuring out the themes for each post. While there are always overarching themes for the year, the reliance on four gospels and a handful of other writings through the lectionary means that there are at least three different sets of readings for most Sundays. This year, I was fortunate enough to find themes that would work in Stages on the Way: Worship Resources for Lent, Holy Week & Easter from the Wild Goose Worship Group of the Iona Community.

So, here we are at the end of Lent. We again stand in the Saturday between times. Yesterday, Jesus completed his journey to the cross. Today, he is in the tomb and the disciples feel that all is done; their hope for a better world, for a different tomorrow has come crashing down around them.

But the good news for us is that we know how it really ends, we know that there is a better tomorrow. The journey has not ended, but is about to burst forth into a new beginning. We are a Sunday people.

Easter Vigil
K-Os - Sunday Morning

Easter Morning ~ Resurrection
Chumbawamba - Tubthumping

Easter Morning ~ The Role of Women
Alanis Morissette - Head Over Feet

Easter Week 2 ~ Thomas and Doubting
Paolo Nutini - Rewind

Easter Week 3 ~ Jesus Appears to His Disciples
Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians - Love Like We Do

Easter Week 4 ~ Jesus Foretells His Departure
The Cure - Lovesong

Easter Week 5 ~ Promise of the Holy Spirit
Indigo Girls - Love Will Come to You

Easter Week 6 ~ Gift of Peace
Carl Thomas Gladstone - Mother Jesus

Ascension ~ Jesus Returns to Heaven
Ben Harper - Amen, Omen

Easter Week 7 ~ Jesus' Prayer to God for His Disciples
Collective Soul - Shine

8th Sunday of Easter ~ Pentecost
The Doors - Light My Fire

As it is now getting dark here on Saturday evening, I feel that I should say a word about the Easter Vigil song. This is the one carryover from my previous posts for Lent. Just as I could not end the Lenten list with Jesus in the tomb and the disciples experiencing that loss, I can't just jump into Easter without the hint of what came before. So here are the words I posted 2 years ago.

I must say that it was this song (Sunday Morning) by K-Os that pushed me to finally put together this playlist. The refrain repeats over and over "Everyday is Saturday night, but I can't wait for Sunday morning." It is such a happy and upbeat song, and I realized it fits perfectly into that transition between the emptiness of Saturday and the joy of Sunday. I heard or read part of an interview with K-Os, who spoke of the night life of Toronto and how everyone is so focused on the Saturday nights - the parties, the clubs, the hook-ups, etc. But there is just something different about Sunday morning that calls to us. Sunday hearkens back to memories of our grandparents' church and family meals. For us as Christians, there is also the sense that too often we get caught in the pain of Friday or the emptiness of Saturday. Every day of the week becomes a Saturday night - a time of excessive living in this world. But week after week, I find I can't wait 'til Sunday morning - Sunday when everything is made new, Sunday when we become aware of the risen Christ all around us, Sunday when we celebrate the joy of God's promises fulfilled.

Welcome to the family!

2010-03-29T20:34:00.006-05:00

On March 21st, Julian was baptized into the family of God. Of course, he was already a part of that family, but we just thought we'd do that outward and visible sign of that inward, spiritual reality. (All the Methodist are with me on this one!)

It was a great day! Friends came from near and far. Tia Courtney came the farthest...all the way from Oregon! She got to hang with JB all week.

Jeff and Bridget (JB's godparents) and Casey and Sam came from Detroit. Jeff even did his baptism poem that he wrote on the day before Casey was baptized. (We still want a copy, J.)

Our friend Barbara made his baptismal outfit out of the skirt of my wedding dress. (I'd post a picture of the dress so you could see the transformation, but our other computer crashed, and we haven't gotten the data off it if yet!) But it was super special for us!

Julian had a good time and was completely calm for the entire baptism...that was until the ice cold water hit is naked head! No pictures of that unfortunately.

Pastor Catiana walked him around the church and showed him to everyone.

It was a great day. But he didn't take it all that seriously!

The Holy Spirit will make the hair on your hair stand straight up!

Raspberries

2010-03-23T20:15:00.003-05:00

Luckily, I had the camera right on hand for Julian's first raspberries.

We probably need to do laundry...

2010-03-20T13:31:00.002-05:00

Bar of the Month: Fudgy Malted Milk Brownies

2010-03-20T13:12:00.003-05:00

So, here they are and they look wonderful and taste delicious (according to Vince)! And thanks to Courtney who was visiting and helped. Never have you seen such Whopper cutting in your life!

Bars:
4 oz 70% to 72% bittersweet chocolate, chopped
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, cut up
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup malted milk powder (I used chocolate ovaltine.)
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, room temperature
1 yolk, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting:
8 oz. white chocolate, chopped or 1 cup white baking chips
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut up
1/2 cup malted milk balls, halved

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 9-inch square baking pan with foil; spray bottom of foil with cooking spray.

2. Microwave bittersweet chocolate and 10 tablespoons butter in medium bowl on medium for 1 minutes and 30 seconds; stir. Continue microwaving in 15-second increments until completely melted and smooth. Cool to room temperature.

3. Whisk flour, malted milk powder and salt in small bowl.

4. Beat eggs and egg yolk in medium bowl at low speed 15 seconds or until blended and slightly frothy. Beat in sugar in steady stream 15 seconds or until combined. Beat in chocolate mixture and vanilla 15 seconds or until just combined. Stir in flour mixture until just blended. Spread in pan.

5. Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted 1 inch from side of pan comes out clean and when inserted in center comes out with a trace of chocolate. Cool completely on wire rack.

6. Meanwhile, combine white chocolate, cream, and 1 tablespoon butter in medium heatproof bowl. Bring small saucepan of water to a simmer; remove from heat. Place bowl with chocolate mixture over water (bowl should not touch water). Let stand until ingredients are almost melted; stir until melted and smooth. Refrigerate 10-15 minutes or until spreadable consistency, stirring occasionally.

7. Spread frosting over brownies; top with malted milk balls, cut-side down. Remove from pan using foil; cut into bars.

*Notes: I made a double batch, so I used a 9x13 pan. Also, I find that if you are going to use foil, you have to spray the heck out of it with cooking spray. But when you do, the bars come off very easily.

Stormpooper Julian

2010-03-09T20:33:00.006-06:00

It's that time again, folks! Can you believe it?! We hardly can't. Today Julian is four months old.

For Vince's first Father's Day, when JB was still just our little unknown Jellybean, I bought Vince a Stormpooper onesie for JB. I'm sure you all know about Vince's love of Star Wars, and he is so excited that JB can finally fit into the Stormpooper onesie!

Julian was really tired when we were taking these pictures, but you can sure tell that he's getting more interactive with his surroundings.

And of course, sometimes he just needs a good sleep.

Julian found his tongue this month too!

Needless to say, we are loving being parents! And we're one big happy family. This is probably only the first time that we will scare our kid!

Photos...until something interesting happens

2010-02-28T20:41:00.003-06:00

Not much is really going on in our world, so I thought I would post some pictures to give you something to coo about until his four month update in a week or so! Enjoy!

Bar of the Month Club - a monthly feature

2010-02-14T11:06:00.004-06:00

For quite some time, I have been considering starting a food and cooking blog. I absolutely love to cook and love to share recipes, and I love to read other people's blogs about cooking. But I also know that my reality is such that I barely make the time to keep up one blog, much less TWO. So, I am going to start by occasionally sharing recipes and such on this blog.

When we first started dating (on our first second official date), I made Vince Oatmeal Freckles for his birthday. I contend that this is the point at which Vince fell madly in love with me. (Perhaps he would tell a different story.) Regardless, he made it clear that he loved my cookies. After a while of dating and then marriage, I stopped regularly baking for him. And so for Christmas 2008, I gave Vince a "Cookie of the Month" Club for part of his Christmas present. Once per month he could pick any cookie recipe that he wanted, and I made those cookies. It was a lot of fun, and I got to cook and be creative.

To shake things up a bit, this past Christmas, I gave Vince the "Bar of the Month" Club. Now that sounds like we'll be drinking a lot, but I thought the name "Brownie of the Month" sounded too limiting. I offered to make him any bar that he would like. In January he went for Cream Cheese Brownies. But I had not yet thought about posting these on the blog, so if you want the recipe, email me! And just when he was deciding on what he would choose for his February selection, we got a Cooking Club magazine in the mail with "five decadent bar recipes." Score! And thus he chose for February: Chocolate-Caramel Crispies.

Chocolate-Caramel Crispies (Makes 16 bars)

6 Tablespoons of water, divided
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 (11oz) bag of caramel bits or 40 unwrapped caramels (from 14oz bag), divided
25 marshmallows (not miniature)
4 cups crisped rice cereal
4oz 60% to 62% bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1. Line 9in square baking pan with foil; spray with cooking spray.

2. Bring 1 tablespoon of the water and 2 tablespoons of the butter to a simmer in medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in half of the caramel bits until melted and smooth. Add marshmallows; stir until melted and smooth. Remove from heat; stir in cereal until well-combined. Spoon into pan; pat into corners. With well buttered fingers, smooth top.

3. Bring 4 tablespoons of the water and remaining 1 tablespoon of butter to a boil in small saucepan over medium-low heat. Remove from heat; stir in chocolate until melted and smooth. Cool to room temperature. Drizzle over bars.

4. Microwave remaining caramel bits and remaining 1 tablespoon of water in small microwave-safe bowl 1 minute or until melted and smooth, pausing ever 20 seconds to stir. Drizzle in larger bands over bars. With tip of knife, swirl caramel and chocolate into decorative pattern. Let stand until set. Remove from pan using foil; cut into bars.

*Note...I have yet to really figure out how to take good pictures of food, so hopefully, as these features progress, so will the photography.*

Also, use more cooking spray than you think you need. The caramel in the rice crispies makes this recipe extra sticky!

Three Months Old

2010-02-09T20:05:00.005-06:00

We can hardly believe that Julian is now three months old! He is so much fun and is growing his personality. And we love it! We are one of the lucky ones to have a baby with such a sweet disposition who is a great sleeper as well. Here are his three month Jedi shots.

Julian is also rolling like a madman. We thought it was a fluke at first, but he has proven to us that rolling is now his specialty...at least from his tummy to his back. On this video he rolled twice, but then he went on to roll about ten more times and even rolled to his other side. This kid cannot be stopped.

Where he once hated tummy time, he enjoys it a lot now because he can get a better look at the cats and the dog.

And just for fun, he does sometimes make funny faces...

Updates

2010-01-30T13:20:00.002-06:00

Life is good with Mr. JB. He's rolled from belly to back twice. Although he is categorically denying the paparazzi access to this act. We'll get it on video at some point. He's becoming quite chatty and smiley, which warms our hearts each time.

I'm back at work this week, which has it's pluses and minuses, and JB officially starts day care next week. We'll get to that more in a later post. For now, enjoy these videos. Disregard my silly, high-pitched mom voice. The post-bath video is fun because he loves taking baths, but he loves the lotion massage the best. He makes the funnest noises.

And comment so we know you are out there!

Julian at Two Months Old

2010-01-14T13:33:00.004-06:00

Julian turned two months old on January 9, and we took his monthly picture with Yoda.

He was really unhappy at first at having to take a picture.

But then I cuddled him long enough for him to fall asleep.

But he was still a bit fussy.

But a pacifier took care of that problem.

JB was wearing his elephant outfit (Thanks, Mike & Amy D) in honor of the University of Alabama's win over Texas for the national championship in college football. Roll Tide!

The Holidays (In Review)

2010-01-10T12:27:00.006-06:00

After much hard work, I finally got the lights on the Christmas tree. It only took three weeks to finally get it done. This was in the days before Julian started taking long naps in the afternoon. I swear, I had to watch White Christmas three times before I finally finished. We decided to pass on ornaments this year. If it took three weeks to get the lights on, think how long it would take to put on ornaments...or heck...take it all down.

Our stockings are looking quite lovely in a row. Everyone (four-legged family included) has one. Julian's was made by our dear friend, Barb. She even read my mind about what I wanted. I was planning to make one for him myself that had his name on it and was decorated with snowpeople. Great job, Barb!

(Stockings L to R: Vince, Julian, April, Gumbo, Dora, Luna)

My family came up for Christmas from Texas and Louisiana. My brother Jake, his wife Robin, and their dog Maggie drove from New Orleans to Jackson, MS to pick up my dad, and then they all drove up to Chicago. They brought 20lbs of satsumas too (a Louisiana citrus fruit compared to a tangerine, but better)! Our fantastic downstairs neighbor Kim was going to be out of town for the holiday, so we had two apartments, which worked perfectly.

(Uncle Jake and Julian...chillin')

Jake and Robin took great care of JB, so that Vince and I could have a baby-free night on the town. We went to Davis Street Fish Market (YUM!) and then to Barnes and Noble for browsing and coffee. We chatted and worked on our list journal. (More about the journal in another post.)

(Aunt Robin and Julian spent a lot of time bouncing.)

Dad made some delicious picnic chili, which we munched on for days. And we all worked together to cook a delicious Christmas dinner with Jake making turkey, Dad making dressing, Robin making brussell sprouts, and me making Eller beans (fancy green beans), pies, and cranberries.

(JB and Bubba...my dad)

(Vince reading one of JB's favorite books...my favorite line: "Don't meander, salamander!")

It was great to have them all here for JB's first Christmas. Here's a picture of JB in an outfit from his Sweetie (my mom).
Santa's favorite, indeed!

And an outfit from his GG (Vince's mom).

JB's grandpop (Vince's dad) is a firefighter afterall.

A few days after Christmas, my coworker and great friend Jonathan and his girlfriend Meghan came over for Jonathan's birthday. We had homemade meatballs in a tomato gravy with radicchio, gnocchi and a great cake that Meghan got at a bakery near their home. It was a great time!

(Ready to blow out candles)

Look at that beautiful carrot cake!

Julian and me before the IWJ holiday party

Nap Time

2010-01-04T20:43:00.004-06:00

I do have some pics and whatnot from Christmas, but I'll have to upload those when I have more time. But this was my experience today:

JB and I were a bit off our schedule today, but he was still super sleepy. I put him down in his bassinet, not quite asleep, and hoped he would settle down. He was squirmy for a couple of minutes and then he settled down. So, I went in to check and make sure he was asleep. And this is what I found:

No nap for me, Mama.

How could you resist this face?

New Toys

2009-12-21T22:51:00.004-06:00

Gumbo hasn't quite figured out that all the new toys aren't for him.

But he's willing to share.

A cute close up smile.

On Children

2009-12-11T10:04:00.003-06:00

Vince's co-workers had their holiday party and turned it into a baby shower for Julian as well. Peggy gave us a writing from Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet. It is quite profound, and I'm going to spend a bit more time with it, but I would love to hear your thoughts too!

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said,
Speak to us of Children.
And he said:
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but see not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows set forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with his might that His arrow may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so he loves also the bow that is stable.

Visitors

2009-12-10T20:17:00.005-06:00

Julian (and Vince and I) have had a number of visitors. We just haven't had time to blog about it, so here's a few pictures.

Godmother Bridget

Bridget with JB, Casey, and Sam

Our neighbor Nora with her baby Henry (who's 5 weeks older than JB)

JB and Grandpop (or Vince's dad)

JB and GG (Grandma Glenda - Vince's mom)

One Month Old

2009-12-10T19:55:00.003-06:00

Our good friends Jeff and Bridget (who are Julian's godparents) have two sons, Casey (3 1/2 and my godson) and Sam (18 months). Each month during the first year of their lives, Jeff and Bridget took pictures of them in the same chair in their house with the same stuffed animal (a bear, in their cases). This way they could show the progression of their growth.

We thought that was such a great idea that we decided we would do the same with JB. Of course, we had to take our own spin on it...or at least Vince's own spin on it. So, this is the first installment of the SAME JEDI, SAME CHAIR pictures.

The long view of Julian and Yoda

"Mama, I'm bored with this...how much longer do I have to sit here?"

"I really don't want to be here!!!"

"Ok...this isn't so bad. Who is this guy next to me anyway?"

And for those of you who are interested in stats...JB was born weighing 7lbs 13oz and 19in. On his one month check-up 9lbs and 21in.

Tub Time

2009-12-01T16:19:00.005-06:00

So until this week, we have been giving JB sponge baths. We started this, of course, so as not to hinder his umbilical cord from falling off. But then it just became the way we bathed him.

His umbilical cord has been gone for two weeks now, so we finally made the leap to a tub bath.

And actually, he liked this much more than a sponge bath. I think he stayed warmer, and it didn't take as long. He didn't cry or scream at all and mostly just looked at us with that "I don't know what I'm supposed to think of this" look. Perhaps he'll be like his mom and love a good long bath!

Heisman winner?

And a couple other photos for your viewing pleasure...

What kind of face is that?

Drama king in the making?

Detroiters Visit

2009-11-28T13:05:00.004-06:00

We were glad that our friends Mike, Amy, and Lucy were in town visiting family in Joliet from Detroit. And they came over to meet Julian. It was great to have them here for a short visit.

Lucy was born on November 13th last year, so it was fun to think of Julian being as big as Lucy. It's hard to imagine but fun to speculate!

And just for kicks, this was the sunset that night out our window.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-28T12:47:00.007-06:00

We knew that we would not be up for cooking a big Thanksgiving meal this year. We weren't even sure that we'd be up for socializing with others, but I emailed James and Jason anyway and invited ourselves to their Thanksgiving dinner. They were happy to have us there, and we were happy to spend our first Thanksgiving as a family with good friends.

JB did pretty well - and even let us eat - once he was asleep. And Amanda got to feel motherly while holding him.

What you don't see is that he's wearing an outfit (Thanks, Becky!) that says "Thankful for Mommy and Daddy." Too cute!

Nicole made homemade butter...absolutely yummy.

Thanks, James and Jason, for letting us crash your Thanksgiving dinner. It was delicious!

(Sorry we didn't get better pictures of you!)

Sweetie

2009-11-21T17:56:00.004-06:00

When my mom was a little girl, her father called her "Super Sweet." Pa'Pa' gave all of his kids nicknames that they loved into adulthood. So, when my sister became pregnant for the first time, we asked my parents what they wanted to be called. It took my mom no time to say she wanted to be called Super Sweet.

We tried hard to get Jonathan (my oldest nephew) to call Mom Super Sweet, but it was really too much of a mouthful for a little one, and so it ended up as "Sweetie." It is still really cute to hear my nephews say, "I got that from my Sweetie" or "my Sweetie is coming to visit."

Sweetie had been with us since we came home from the hospital last Wednesday and just left today. I have to tell you the truth: I am not sure how we would have survived without her here. While she was certainly here to love on JB, her primary role became caretaker to me and Vince. She made sure we ate and napped. She washed dishes and walked the dog.

She did her fair share of Julian care as well. She changed a bunch of diapers and sang a ton of songs (and even made up quite a few). She got to change the worst diaper in JB's short history and has been the only one to experience his diaper fountain. AND she let us wake her in the middle of the night to take a shift with Jules so that we could get an hour of shuteye.

(Sweetie's handiwork.)

Thanks for coming, Sweetie! Sure you can't stay for another month or so?

Confessions of a first time parent

2009-11-13T11:25:00.003-06:00

I have a feeling that this is only part one of a continuing series that will be upon the McGel household. Today is day five of our new lives together, and we are constantly learning what we know and what we don't know. We are also realizing that there are things we just haven't thought of.

So, here's our first confession:

We had a doctor's appointment for Julian at 8:30am (who knew that was early!) on the morning after we got home. Now because I am still recovering, and we live on a third floor, the midwife said that we should go through a check list of everything we need to take with us. We run it through our minds and head out the door.

We get to the appointment on time (without the showers we thought we'd have time to take, of course), and we have to strip Julian down to his birthday suit to get his weight checked. Just when we get to the diaper, Vince turns to me and says, "Did we bring any extra diapers?"

At this point we both burst out laughing. Not only did we not bring any extra diapers, we had not even thought about packing a diaper bag. It never once occurred to us that we were leaving the house with a baby, and we might need to give him a change...even though we knew he would be getting naked. We were lucky that JB had a clean diaper, and we were able to put it back on after his check.

So, we have a lot to learn about this parenting thing. The one thing that is certain...Julian will never be without loving parents. We may mess up in a million other ways, but he will always be loved! Naked, but loved!

(More pictures to come...)

Welcome, Julian Blake!

2009-11-10T13:00:00.003-06:00

Well, after 31 hours of labor, we welcomed our son, Julian Blake, into our arms. Mom and baby are both doing well (can you believe no pain killers were involved?). Julian was 7 pounds 13 ounces and 20 inches long at birth. We will post more later, but for now we are still at the hospital. So here are just a few pics to whet your appetite.

Julian Blake

Mom and baby

A little daddy time.

How cute is he?

Tomorrow's the day...or is it?

2009-11-07T18:10:00.002-06:00

Well. I've almost made it. Tomorrow I will be 40 weeks pregnant, and our little (big) Jellybean will be due. The question that is on my mind (or perhaps more accurately...on my bladder) is will our child show his or her face tomorrow? To this question I do not know the answer.

I know that JB's mom is MORE than ready to welcome him/her into this world. And while I have used many a breath to compel JB out, McGlothins have never been known for their submission to authority figures. And for that matter, we have never been known for our patience either.

So to all of you out in the blogosphere, pray for the JB to make an appearance soon, and pray for his/her mother's patience. And especially pray for JB's dad, who has to deal with JB's mom. He's really getting the brunt of it all!

Flu mania

2009-10-20T09:50:00.003-05:00

I just thought I would send out a quick post to let y'all know we are still alive and still have not given birth. I'm at 37 1/2 weeks, which means this baby could come at anytime. I'm hoping that we still have a couple of weeks to get things done. I'll try to send a picture or something soon. But I wanted to share an experience we had this weekend.

Courtney was in town this weekend, and on Saturday night we decided to go see Where the Wild Things Are. Now normally we avoid such things as movies on opening weekends, but in my delicate position, there is just no waiting until later to see movies. The line was long, but we were in the front of it and got great aisle seats. The theater was packed with no empty seats, so beggers cannot be chooser here.

Courtney, coming off of day four of a common cold, coughed. The woman (mid-60s) in front of her immediately turned around and asked, "Are you sick?" Court explained that she was at the tail end and felt well but still had a cough. "How many days have you been sick?" the woman asks more fervently. "This is day four or five." "You're still sick....Honey, get up we're moving." The couple proceeds to leave their great seats and end up sitting separately in crappy seats to avoid the cougher.

It was truly a bizarre experience. Mind you, pregnant me felt comfy being around these folks. (Vince was also on day four of a cold.) But it was just a little of the flu mania that I have been seeing around. Perhaps I'm being a little too confident in my health or lax in my flu mania, but this was a bit much. Good hygiene will take you a long way, folks!

Gumbo and Lily

2009-08-30T16:00:00.004-05:00

Our neighborhood has a ton of dogs, and Gumbo's the type of dog to get to know everyone (canine or otherwise) that we pass on our walks. So, we have actually become good friends with some of our neighbors. But one dog stands out from the rest...Lily the beagle.

While Gumbo does not shy away from any dog, big or small, Gumbo does have a special affinity for Lily. They are about the same size and play at just about the same pace. Lily is definitely Gumbo's favorite. Lily's people, Jeff and Laura, have taken Gumbo on many overnights, and we have done the same. On the Saturday of our staycation, Laura was out of town and Jeff had a gig until late, and Lily came over to have a sleepover with G.

They wrestled on the bed...a lot...

And they rested...a bit...

And then they wrestled some more...

And a couple other funny pictures of Gumbo's bad habit. Actually, any time you give him a treat like a rawhide chew or an asparagus or green bean, he always seems to carry it this way. And we finally got a picture of what looks like a dog about to light up!

The rest of the story

2009-08-30T15:20:00.007-05:00

So we really did have more than one day on our staycation. It has just taken me this long to have a moment to blog about it. We really enjoyed our four-day break from the mundane parts of life: laundry, grocery shopping, chores, work, etc. A little break from it all was great.

On Friday we did something we have not had time to do and were at the same time putting off: registering for baby stuff. We went to be overwhelmed by the mass consumerism that is somewhat necessary for welcoming a new little life. While quite a bit of what we encountered is completely unnecessary, somethings you really do need. We also were able to buy paint for the crib to take it from periwinkle to white. I think the color was actually something like Fresh Snow, but we'll just call it white. Otherwise, we spent Friday lounging around the house and cuddling on the couch.

Saturday was a fuller day. We took ourselves back downtown. As long as we have lived here, Vince has never been to the Bean...the Cloud Gate, actually...but everyone just calls it the bean. Wonder why?

We had fun taking pictures of ourselves....

Vince's first visit to the Bean

Jellybean and the Bean

Chicago reflected

Vince also really enjoyed the twin fountains with the huge LCD screens that had faces of Chicagoans spitting water on the crowd playing in the water. It was quite cool this day, but that didn't stop all the kids and a few adults from jumping in.

This is a picture of us NOT going into the Art Institute.

So, we planned to visit the Art Institute to see the new modern wing that they finished not very long ago. We even went to the trouble to get our friend's membership pass so that we could go for free. But it turns out that you have to BRING the pass with you when you come. :) We were about to get off the El when Vince said, "Did you remember to grab the pass?" "Nope." Oh, well, I guess the Art Institute will have to wait until another day. Another point for baby brain.

Finally, we went to lunch at Blackies for great burgers and headed home. Once we got near our house, we ran into our neighbor Jeff walking their beagle Lily. "Sure, we'll take care of Lily for the night." And next thing we know, Gumbo's having a sleepover, but I will get to that in the next post.

Sunday morning, it began. The Dexter: Season 3 Marathon. Vince and I got into the show Dexter last year sometime and have been getting the discs from Netflix. Well, season 3 just came out on dvd, and so we ordered them. And then we picked up the rest of the season at the blockbuster. Yep, we watched the entire season almost back to back. We did stop to go over for dinner at our friends Nigel and Nancy's place, but that was the only interruption. The problem is that now we have to wait for season for to begin, end, and then come out on dvd. Maybe we should have spread them out.

Regardless, this is how we spent our staycation. A little bit out in the world, and a little bit curled on the couch. Just as it should be. There won't be another break from work for us until the baby comes. And I'm not anticipating that feeling much like a break!

Staycation - Day One

2009-08-20T18:56:00.005-05:00

Vince and I knew we needed to take a vacation before the harriedness of the fall began, and so we decided to take Thursday and Friday off of work and have some fun. We originally thought about going up to Door County in Wisconsin and having a few days away. But as the time approached, we decided instead to stay in Chicago and enjoy some sights that we've been meaning to do.

So, here we are. It's day one of our staycation! As long as I have lived in Chicago, I had never been to the Field Museum. For a while now, we have seen signs for the Pirate exhibit they have, and we've wanted to go. That's just what we did today. We slept in and then headed down to the museum campus to check in with the pirates.

The exhibit was excellent, and we learned a lot about this one particular pirate ship, the Whydah. We also learned interesting facts like....pirates never really buried their treasure. In fact, they rarely held onto their profits for very long at all. There was always good rum and women to spend it on. Also, we learned that when the pirates took over a new ship, they always asked the crew whether the captain was kind or cruel. If they said he was kind, the captain often received a small ship and was set free. If the crew thought him cruel, the captain was often beaten and tortured, usually resulting in his death. This should be a warning to all you cruel captains out there!

We got to see Sue, of course. For those of you who aren't familiar, Sue is largest complete T-Rex skeleton found in the world. And she was found right here in the US. Pretty impressive.

The most interesting part of my day happened when we were entering the "Our Evolving World" section of the museum. We were walking in when a boy (about 8) and a girl (about 10) rushed in ahead of us. We heard the grandmother yell from behind, "Oh, you don't want to go in there." "Yes, I do," yelled back the boy. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Because we don't believe in that bullshit."

Wow....did that just happen? "We don't believe in that bullshit"?!? I was taken aback by this response. I guess it's been quite a while since I've heard such a compelling argument against evolution, but there it was...right in the heart of the Field Museum. And I have to say, her words followed me for the next hour as we meandered our way through our evolving world.

I could not stop thinking about her. I kept thinking to myself, "how do you explain...if not for evolution?" And I would frequently bother Vince with similar quandaries. Until finally, he explained it all to me. "God didn't create the dinosaurs," he explained. "God created fossils."

Well, doesn't that just explain it all!

In Our Belfry

2009-08-18T21:31:00.003-05:00

So we were sitting around earlier this evening chatting and Gumbo suddenly started paying a little too much attention to the magazine basket. He has liked to chew on the basket in the kitchen that has towels and such in it. Then we heard this sound.

We both looked at each other at the same time. April said, "What is that?" My first thought was that it kind of sounded like a cricket or some other bug, but I wasn't quite sure. and Gumbo was entirely too interested. So I went to investigate. Now we have rearranged the furniture, but in our current configuration, the basket sits right next to the shelf in the photo below in the corner of the room.

So I pull out the basket, I see a much larger something on the side of the basket than I expected.
I must have made some kind of noise when I realized what I was looking at, because April asked, "What is it?"

"A bat."

"A WHAT?!?"

"A B-A-T."

Then she starts freaking a little about keeping the animals away and hoping the thing doesn't decide to start flying around. Needless to say, I proceeded to put the poor little guy outside. He didn't seem very happy with me for pulling him out of his nice dark hiding spot and putting him out in the sun.

The crazy thing is that we haven't had any windows open since the middle of last week, so how long had he been there?