Chris and Mike

These two Valentines.

2012-02-14T21:03:00.000-05:00

New accessory trend--goggles.

2012-02-09T21:50:00.001-05:00

This is a common scene in the house these days. I don't even know the word he uses for goggles but he breaks them out to "woke" with his "toos". He watches everything very closely and mimics it later especially when Mike is working with any kind of tool. Notice they way he is holding the screw driver just right and showing such focus. Although, ;ooking back on these photos, they kind of feel like a he's a model in a product or clothing shoot. He looks aloof, a bit nonchalant and even fake in some shots. Funny.

I have got to get a better video of him talking because he talks a lot--even in sentences. Today, he was saying "I do" or "I did" to everything. Would you like some cereal? I doooo. Do you want to go outside? I doooo. I know most of it sounds like complete babble to everyone else but he knows lots of words, he just can't say them properly.

Nothing gets to Mike quite like an out of focus picture so this post is going to bother him. I wasn't on my A-game but these shots were just too good with the goggles and the new jersey knitted by liz looks so cool on him. Plus, his hair is long and wacky and it looks so awesome over his goggles. I also love this shot of our girl and Mike from Sunday morning when he got the kids all ready for church and brought her down to the Inn where I was working (and hanging with Gordon Ramsay) to eat. I like the way she is looking into the distance almost longingly she has crazy long fingers. I need to go to bed now.

4 months.

2012-01-30T13:26:00.000-05:00

In honor of her 4th month she has slept through the night (8+hours) 2 nights in a row. This also coincided with shorter naps during the day but we'll take it, Woot-woot! She is wiggling all over the place and getting much strongerand looks all around but the SMILES, oh her smiles, are delicious and she freely shares with all who even spend a moment to talk with her. She is getting a pretty sweet double chin and some thigh rolls. She isn't huge but she is chunkier than her brother was at 4 months because she eats well! We have her 4 month check up tomorrow so we'll get all the updates. She has a pretty sweet bald spot on the back of her head but her hair is still very red. She is the coolest.

January via phone shots

2012-01-28T09:49:00.001-05:00

2012 is well on its way. We had some very very cold days this month but only one little snow storm--very mild winter 'round these parts. Our boy is talking a lot and some of it even people who don't know him can understand. As you can see we've had lots of time inside during the month of January. It's just not as easy to get out when it's cold but we try which means there is a lot of toddler wandering all over the house, destroying things and lots of Bumbo-ing for the girl.

The big news is last night he went up to Mike and asked to go potty. Sat down and went. Actually he went twice last night and then again this morning when he woke up. We were going to wait until the last possible moment when we knew he wanted to but he is kind of asking us to get with it. I don't know. I am still not convinced but we'll see how the weekend goes and then I might start reading up on the ole training tricks of the trade. I am happy to receive anyone's advice if they have any to share but again I am not sure we will be delving into this very seriously since I can't tell if he is really that into it and if he's not, I'm sure not.

Tomorrow our little Rocky Red will be 4 months.

Rocky ouchie me.

2012-01-20T15:56:00.002-05:00

Here's our nearly 4 month old little girl. She's super cool. She laughs, even giggles these days. She seems so much more social to me than our boy was at 4 months so it's been fun. She is nearly rolling over on her own and sleeping a little less during the day and a little more at night. The last 5 nights she has only eaten once at night so I have beginning to refill my sleep debt.

Her brother is just so sweet with her although he did tell me yesterday that "Rocky ouchie me" when he was rolling around on the bed and rolled over her arm and he felt like she hurt him. Ha. He brought it up several times--he knows how to milk something for sure. I would say maybe he's feeling a little neglected, but I know that isn't true.

I always think of things to write down to remember but now I forget. Oh well--she's the coolest.

Snow gnome.

2012-01-14T21:38:00.002-05:00

We got our first snow since Thanksgiving. It has been really really cold the last few days. I think it is -16 tonight. Brrrrrr. Despite the cold, our boy likes wandering around outside. Sometimes he will lead us alllll over town just wandering around saying "Dat way" and heading there. When I got him all suited up in his snow gear, he looked like a little garden gnome to me. I liked seeing him bop around in the snow.

This kid rocks.

NYE Bowling!

2012-01-04T16:15:00.001-05:00

On New Year's Eve we all headed to the local bowling alley for some good times. This is definitely a fun new tradition. Next year, we know to book a lane.

3 months.

2011-12-30T14:31:00.000-05:00

Last month's pictures seemed like ages ago but it is all a big blur. She is actually sleeping pretty well but sometimes even 6 hours consecutive sleep just isn't enough.

The kids are napping and I have to get busy.

Christmas festivities.

2011-12-29T21:23:00.004-05:00

Sugar Cookie Decorating

Christmas Eve Talent Show (new tradition) including Ninja moves video & Lil' Bunny Foo Foo Dramatization

Christmas Morning

Graham Cracker Houses

My favorite Christmas shot

and due to a distinct lack of shots of our girl in this post, one of Rocky

The above shot is my favorite from Christmas this year. It reminds me so much of my busy little boy. Within 5 minutes of the tree being up he had found all of the pom poms on the garlands he could reach and bunched them together in these little clusters. It makes me laugh finding these and watching him busily and very seriously "woking" on the tree.

Christmas 2011 was a success and already feels like ages ago, not just a week. We had a wonderful family gathering on the Eve. We did some caroling and hopefully Rich got some fun shots to share from that. Every time we went to house, Lars wanted to take off his jacket and boots. It was fun to see the kids sing and the people at the doors light up. That is definitely a fun new tradition and then we gathered for our traditional hamburger and rootbeer floats. Mike special ordered some gingerbeer which is a fun new kiwi addition to the tradition. Then we had a little talent show which brought us some bollywood dancing, some tap, some ninja moves, a dramatization of "Little Bunny Foo Foo" and a slideshow from 2011. There were several other random talents in there and Rich was asked to narrate LBFF about 3 more times for the kids.

Christmas morning was short and sweet. I tried to make the room feel fun with balloons and streamers and candles. Lars was genuinely thrilled by it all. There were lots of excited "oohs" and "ahhs" as he ripped through the gifts thanks to his adoring grandparents in New Zealand and New Mexico and the free chain saw Grammy Lyall found for free at the local dump. Our little girl slept through the whole thing and I wasn't about to wake her up to take a family picture of us looking exhausted. Next year, we have decided to not put the candy out because we couldn't keep Lars out of it. He had handfuls before I had cut of his supply.. He was jazzed. Hey, it's Christmas. We are still enjoying our NZ supply of goodies that was sent over by liz and in the post-Christmas letdown where you can't quite get the energy to get back to work after gearing up for the holiday. I am giving myself through New Year's and then it is back to it! And because there was a distinct lack of pictures of Rocky in this post...

Here's to a positive, less stressful, exciting (but the good kind of exciting- not the broken pipe, broken bone, broken car kind of exciting) 2012.

Happy Christmas!

2011-12-24T10:26:00.001-05:00

It's been quite a year. Time to relax and celebrate! Happy Christmas to our family in New Zealand today.

Mike special ordered some Ginger beer to take to the family party tonight. Each sip reminds us of NZ. Lars loves it--just like his dad. We are going to do some caroling, some hamburger eating, and some talent showing tonight. Sounds like a fun Christmas Eve.

cutie kids

2011-12-21T15:59:00.001-05:00

Wow, Christmas is nearly here! Lars and I made sugar cookies today and are making graham cracker houses tomorrow (I don't like gingerbread). He has no idea what this whole Christmas thing is but I know he is loving all the extra treats. He'll get just close enough to Santa to get candy canes so he's go that all figured out.

These are a random smattering of pictures from this last week. I love the little outfit our girl is wearing. I am not big into putting babies into headbands but this outfit that was given to us had one and of course when I put it on her little red head, I just couldn't get enough. Cutie!

From our family to yours...

2011-12-17T11:31:00.000-05:00

It was going to be hard to be the video from last year (with JD & Wyatt's stellar performances) so we went a totally different direction. We wanted to include all our team from Oregon and Illinois. The only people we were missing were mom and dad which I am bummed about. I think my favorite part might just be that perfectly cute little voice singing "and a pint of Ben & Jerry's"

It's become a fun tradition and the kids are super cute. Happy week before Christmas!

Snow already--I will regret saying this

2011-12-15T17:35:00.000-05:00

It's rainy and warm today--well warm for December in Vermont. Very odd weather. It is totally affecting my Christmas spirit which at the moment is non existent but if were to get some snow, I'd be ho-ho-ho-ing with the best of them. Here's a shot of our toddler tree. Can you notice how most of the decorations are bunched on the top? Things shift daily on that tree and I have moved all the balls up higher. I think this is going to be the last year of the pipe cleaner decorations Leilani and I made in '08. I love how Lars takes all the pom poms and pulls them together in bunches. I should have gotten a before picture when I decorated and then what it looked like 10 mins after he got into it. He's a designer, what can I say?

Oh and he's at that age that he think if he can't see you, you can't see him sort of thing. So he pulls the curtains around him and pulls the lights off the window. It's a favorite time. We got wood and our stove has been pumping out warmth all week. It's so nice to have it going. Now, if it would just snow already!--I will regret saying that.

2011-12-09T22:29:00.001-05:00

I was diggin' her outfit today all of which was handed down or given to us. I think my sister's sister-in-law made that vest many years ago. I love it. Of course, the legwarmers are perfect and I wish I could just hire liz to be our full time knitter--but I guess she kind of is, we have kept her busy!

The video doesn't full capture how awesome her smiles are but it's better than nothing. I still think she looks a lot like my dad. Little Roxcy Red.

Christmassy weekend.

2011-12-06T22:37:00.001-05:00

If it weren't unseasonably warm for December, I think I would feel more in the holiday cheer since we have been doing all sorts of holiday things lately. Last Friday night, we went to the town tree lighting and the fire engine was totally decked out--it looked very cool. It was a cold night but the Inn was looking beautiful- especially the garland around the front door that Keighty designed.

The next morning we headed across the river to pick our Christmas tree. It's not too big or too small and I will do a whole special post on our "toddler tree" this year. Later that afternoon we went to see Santa who arrives via fire engine every year. Mike waited in line with him and prepped him to go up but just like last year, he was not into it so we all got our picture with Santa. Although, he was very into the candy canes which he was stealing from the basket. Yes, it looks like he has blood around his mouth and is kind of gross but isn't he just the perfect combination of cute and dirty?

perfectly peaceful

2011-12-05T22:23:00.000-05:00

There is a bit of a ritual around her naps. She'll eat and then she seems to like to be swaddled (but not too tightly) in a fleece blanket that is around her head but not smothering her face. I kid you not, she falls asleep faster this way and rests perfectly peacefully for a couple hours. You know she is out when her eyelids get this purplish color. You can tell that her baby brain nano-neurons are firing hard and fast. I remember a pediatrician telling us once that if we could comprehend how intensely fast a baby's brain was developing, we would feel very intimidated.

2 months.

2011-11-29T17:23:00.002-05:00

Here's our wee girlie. We have her 2 month appointment tomorrow and I am curious to see how much she weighs. She is putting on weight so much faster than her brother did. Things that he was wearing at 2 months and were kind of baggy don't fit her anymore. I mean, I know she isn't huge but comparatively, she looks like a chunk. Her brother didn't give his first real smiles until he was over 2 months and she's been smiling for weeks. She almost has a giggle--a little high pitched squeal. Just interesting to notice the differences but her smiles are magic!

She is sleeping well and for the past couple weeks, they both nap at basically the same time and then she sleeps again in the later afternoon. She actually kind of has a bedtime of 7-8:30 which she has created all on her own. Sometimes she will sleep up to 7 hours after going down but she isn't totally regular with that yet. She is getting pretty good at getting to sleep on her own. I used to get her to sleep in the night before I put her down after nursing but now I just lie her back in crib and she falls asleep eventually.

Yes, her hair is still definitely red and she has light bushy eyebrows. Her brother loves giving her kissed and comes to tell me when she is crying and that I need to hold her or give her milk. She is very patient with his antics but I guess she doesn't know any different- the plight of the younger sibling. She's really a very easy little person.

2011-11-27T19:29:00.002-05:00

Here are some random shots from Thanksgiving on Thursday. We potlucked with the crew that stuck around Windsor and our Boston clan came up as well. We put on a mighty fine feast and felt like we stepped it up a notch this year. Chelle pulled out her grandma's china and we had fancy bubbly punch. The kids sat in the kitchen with their fluorescent ikea wear. I posted a picture of the full plate because I know that my mom would be interested but generally speaking, Thanksgiving plate shots are not very appetizing. They look rather bland but it tasted delicious and dessert was spectacular--so much so that I couldn't be bothered getting the camera out because I dove right in and back again and again. There was a Cherry pie, pumpkin pies, pumpkin cinnamon rolls, and a chocolate cake with a pumpkin frosting that could send you into a sugar coma if ingested too quickly. We all felt appropriately stuffed.

After we ate, Chelle brought down her favorite world puzzle that is assembled on any and every holiday. I decided that the world could be divided into two types of people. People who do puzzles and people who make fun of people who do puzzles. I am not going to say who was in which group but it was very obvious. Unfortunately, Felicity didn't make it into the shot because she was definitely a puzzle person and Nathaniel really only showed up there towards the end when most of the vast blue Ocean was already completed.

It was just as Thanksgiving should be. And for the grandparents out there. Here is a video we took of our boy this morning on the way to church. Right before I started to film him, he said he wanted to talk to Pete and Alice on his phone. It sounded so cute but then when I started the video he was Mr. No.

happy (almost) birthday grandma lizzie!

2011-11-23T14:52:00.000-05:00

Last night we got 8 inches of snow so a white Thanksgiving it will be! I took our boy out in it but he was less than thrilled by how cold it is--especially when you aren't wearing your gloves. Like I say in the video, we have a little bit of work to do with his snow attitude-- since this is it for the next 4+ months.

I also wanted to make sure to get some new shots up especially for Liz on her birthday in New Zealand. I know it's not today but we will be away and Thanksgiving-ing tomorrow. Liz made these gorgeous hats the kids are wearing. I keep thinking of her as small but this hat was waaaaaay too big for her when she was born and now it is just fitting but when I see her all the time, I don't have any perspective on it I guess.

We miss you Liz--like a lot.

moc-lit milk

2011-11-19T17:47:00.000-05:00

Whenever we pass the diner Lars says, "I want pancakes"but it sounds more like " Ah wahn pan-cah". He talks all the time but I am sure it is just me and Mike that can understand him and all of his little words. Last night, Mike was working at the Inn late so I was juggling the two little people for bedtime and got them both in jammies on my bed. Our boy did something that I was telling him not to do and he said, "Mommy, shhhhhh" in reference to keeping my voice down for his seesta's sake. Oh, so that's how he takes discipline. Very cunning little fellow.

So this morning we treated ourselves to some pan-cahs. It was really cold outside on our walk down to the diner; the wind was bitter. Lars ordered his pancakes straight away and Mike got a chocolate milk to share. He chugged it down so fast. I tried to get a video of the whole thing but by the time I got the camera out, he was nearly done. I love the way he says chocolate milk. We had a lot of it while Liz was here (Mike took him to get some more today actually)--so this video is for you Liz because I know you miss the little chocolate milk boy.

After breakfast, we passed the local Barber shop and the boys got trims from Cassie. Our girl fell asleep during the walk to the Barbers (about a block) so she rested on the couch. Pretty cute. She was wearing her wools from Liz. Everyone comments on how beautiful they are.

Our little girl is sleeping really well. We now know she can sleep 5,6,7, even 8 hours straight which is really great. I can see her trending a very positive direction and she is actually getting a bit of a consistent rhythm to her day. She really only has freak out crying spells when she is tired and just can't get herself to sleep and she cries so hard it doesn't even sound like crying but maybe some kind of tortured small animal. Sometimes all I have to do is say her name and tell her to come back to us and she chills out. Funny little girl. When our boy was her age, he was just barely starting to nurse well and was still so scrawny looking in comparison. Some things are just much much easier the second time around.

Painting

2011-11-16T14:26:00.000-05:00

Two kids can be a bit more complicated-- a newborn and toddler especially. I will say, there was A LOT of show watching the last few weeks while I have tried to contain a fiercely independent toddler and a constantly be there for a little feeding baby monster but things are slowly evening out around these parts.

Now, I know why my mom had segmented parts to the day because the day goes by so much more smoothly. It is getting colder and soon there will be a lot of snow and it will be below freezing outside for months so we get out as much as we can. But when we can't, we have playing in the sink time and making pillow fort time and standing on top of the laundry basket time and when I am feeling extra energetic, a craft. I have noticed that I really have zero craft supplies but I mustered up some paints and he loved it. He's been asking to "Peant" ever since but unfortunately we used all the paper up. I would also like to get some more colors since these were the 3 colors I bought last Valentines day but he doesn't really care but I would selfishly like more color in the art we hang ;)

And we can't forget little Rocky red. She'll be 7 weeks tomorrow. Thanks to Leilani for this ensemble she's wearing. Those newborn jeggings have been a fashion staple but I think their days are numbered. Our little girl is getting big.

Our 6 week girl.

2011-11-11T12:34:00.000-05:00

For the past two days, I have been able to get both kids down for naps at the same time--well overlapping for an hour. I feel like I have accomplished something really big here. Again, I doubt it will continue this way but it feels big for me (although quite little) and these days, it's all about the little things.

She is 6 weeks now and seeming less like a new born to me. I honestly don't remember what her brother was like at this age except he finally figured out how to breastfeed at 6 weeks and I stopped having to bottle feed and pump so much. She has been a gem in the eating department but throws some royal little fits that I don't remember so much with her big brother. But the baby haze doesn't help the memory. One things she likes is a good beating on her back. Really, it seems like you are pounding a drum but she settles down when you do it and she likes to be snuggled up when you do it. It's funny figuring out all the little things these little people like and don't like.

Of course, the smiles are brilliant.

and now I am going to go take my free hour (minus 15 minutes for this post) and go eat a cookie and watch something on Hulu. Oh and as I write this, I can hear my boy talking to himself up in his room. I guess he isn't sleeping. Hmmmm, oh well.

our saturday morning.

2011-11-07T02:05:00.002-05:00

These shots were from our Saturday morning. Lars got into my make up which was entertaining. Thanks Lucy for the cute sweater. I love the woolens you sent over for our little lady. You got those leggings for Lars I think. and Thanks Kasey, for the cute hat from Bangladesh.

We successfully made it through a week without live-in help. We miss you Liz! and my parents left the other day too so it was a mass exodus of grandparents so I am told I need to keep the blog updated as much as possible. I have started to feel a bit overwhelmed at times this week but Mike takes our boy with him whenever he runs errands and gets up early with him so I can sleep in a just a little bit. Our girl has had 4-5 hour stretches the last 3 nights but I know better than to think it will stay this way but I will take anything more than 3. She has been smiling and making little talking sounds this week as well. She has one mightily impressive little scream on her when she gets mad or is uncomfortable. I am still learning the subtle differences in her cries but we are figuring it out. Yep, her hair is still red but as her head grows, her baby hair recedes further back on her head. It looks funny but cute funny, of course. Our boy is very loving towards her. He gets so excited to give her hugs and kisses. He is talking A LOT lately. I need to get a video of him saying some of my favorite words. I especially like when he says hummus like "who muth"--a little lisp at the end is super cute.

I would like to officially thank the creators of Shaun the Sheep--basically Wallace and Gromit but with funny sheep. I don't think I would have made it through this week without it. I heard someone talk about how their 2 year old can count to ten in spanish from watching Dora and I thought about how Shaun the Sheep doesn't really have any talking but is really funny so our boy might not be learning to talk but he is learning about comedic timing for sure. He also learns how to pull funny faces which is more important for his existence than talking, right?

** looking back at this post, it looks like coral threw up. I guess i like it.

gotta love the screen grab--she looks terrified.

Our Reindeer

2011-11-01T13:06:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Joy and her eye for serious deals, our boy was a Reindeer this year for Halloween. I think it was $3.99 after Christmas last year and it was pretty cute. It took a little to get him into it but once he saw the other kids dressed up and related it to the acquisition of candy, he was game. We had a trunk or treat party on Friday night and then the family got together for a potato soup potluck and some more trick or treating. We got a bit of snow over the weekend which is still lingering so the kids had to either wear warm costumes or wear them over their jackets. I think he was more excited (and confused) than we have ever seen him. I wish I had a video of him saying "Trick or Treat", it was cool.

weeks 3 & 4

2011-10-27T16:58:00.002-04:00

Ok the weekly photos are over and I will snap one a month until she's two--like we did for her brother. I sorta can't believe it has already been a month.

She is a great eater and get's some decent sleeps at night. She slept 6 straight hours the other night which felt like Christmas to me. She is getting bigger. I can tell because her hair looks thinner as it stretches across her growing head. Her hair is still very red and I joke but she seems to have a little fiery personality to match. She gets herself all worked up into these little screaming tizzies every so often that are kind of impressive in their extremity--for a 4 week old. Her brother didn't do that but then her brother also didn't eat well and was a shrimp for a long time. Everyone has their strengths ;) right? She seems to like baths and relaxing in the water. She's cool.

family of four.

2011-10-25T20:27:00.002-04:00

We had a busy weekend. We gathered to celebrate our little girl's blessing and our family of four. It was wonderful to be surrounded by so many amazing friends and family. Also thanks to Leilani for taking some new family pictures of us. Pictures with a toddler and a newborn may possibly be one of the harder combinations but we got a few. And that little outfit was specially picked by Grandma Lizzie and Grammie Chazzie special for her blessing.

3 weeks ago: the story

2011-10-20T14:45:00.002-04:00

It's been three weeks and already the memory of the experience is changing so for my record:

I was given a few "due dates" in my visits with the midwife-- 25th, 26th, and 28th but then the 25th again which was my parents' 41st anniversary so we thought if she was born that day, we could call her Steryl or Cheve after them because those would be special names ;)

But the days passed and no action. Although, our room renovation was all finished, my family cleaned my whole house, Liz was here to help, and my sister was here too the waiting game started to become a little annoying. By Wednesday the 28th I was having lower back pain most of that day (similar to my last experience) and by the afternoon I was having little contractions every half hour or so. At 7PM, I started noting the times because they seemed more regular but still 10ish minutes apart. We were all hanging out watching TV. We had introduced Joy and Jen to the goodness of "Downton Abbey" and watched the finale episode and topped that by watching "Terra Nova" which was possibly the baddest of all bad TV shows. By midnight, we made it through the 2 hour pilot of what we then called, "Terrible Nova" and we thought it was time for bed if tonight was "the night". I figured we were in for a long day ahead and laid down and slept about 15 minutes until I had a pinching contraction and knew there wasn't going to be much sleeping for me. I downloaded a free app for timing contractions and headed downstairs to do some laundry and stay busy. Now that I look back on the times, my contractions were about 5-7 minutes apart and lasting about a minute. They were bad enough that I wanted some support so about 2:00AM I woke Mike up to have him help push on my back. Liz woke up for a minute to check in with us and then we called my sister to come up around 2:30AM. She was part of my team last time and drove all the way out here from Illinois to be here again so we were glad it was all happening while she was here. Again, I assumed that I would have hours of this so once it was daylight I would call mom up from the Inn.

Mike fell asleep on the the living room floor and Joy took over pushing on my back. At 2:55AM I gave the midwife a call (it was Suzanne on call who reminds me a lot of my friend Kathy Ward who is a rock star) and just let her know I was out here and contracting and she encouraged me to stay home but to head to the hospital when I felt like it. I remember draping myself over on my side on the couch and relaxing as best I could but then I would get up as another one came and Joy would take her position pushing on my back. Joy kept great notes- and said that around 3:45AM that I was totally exhausted and laying on my side.That was her last note until 4:38AM when the baby was born but according to the app, I had a contraction at 3:49, 3:52, and 3:57. I think the last contraction came just after 4:00AM and as it started, I thought, "yep, we need to head to the hospital" but then my water broke and I as I stood up I felt that it was "game on" and the baby was going to fall out. Mike was up and as Joy later noted, " there was a bit of "managed panic" getting to the car in the dark and the pouring rain.

I immediately felt the head engage and I was really uncertain how this whole thing was going to play out. I got very serious (which I tend to do in these situations. Ask Mom about the broken arm "fix it" incident when I was four) and headed out to the car. I just wanted to get in the car but I got out to the car and it was locked and I couldn't just stand there because it felt like the baby would fall out. Where was Mike? In reality, it was probably 15 seconds but every second felt incredibly unbearable if you know what it feels like when you have the urge to push. Yeah. I was yelling at him to get in the car, well to open the car. It must have been more than 15 seconds because when I got to the car and it was locked, I walked back inside because I thought it would be better to at least have the baby inside and not in the rain in the driveway. Yes, "managed panic"

Luckily, I had had Mike take out the car seats and put our hospital bags in the car earlier in the evening so once he found his shoes and the keys, and got us going, the race was on. I remember telling him that I wasn't going to be able to make it and he assured me that I could do this. I didn't believe him but for the next 12 minutes in that car, I willed this baby to stay inside. Yes, usually the drive to Dartmouth hospital takes about 24 minutes and no, I am not exaggerating when I say we made it in 12. It was 4AM and there was no traffic. I think we passed 2 cars on the interstate and due to the heavy rain, there wasn't any construction going on, but yes, there was heavy rain. Yes, there was some serious hydroplaning at moments and yes, there was lots of red light running in the last stretch up to the hospital. I know all of this because I was focused so hard on every single second of that drive. Every time a contraction would come at that point, it didn't hurt so much as I had the absolute urge to push so rather than writhing in pain, I was doing everything in my power to hold her in. I would let Mike and Joy know what was happening by saying things like, "Ok, I am having another one. I really really really want to push" just so they were on the same page as me. I thought my last maniac drive to deliver Lars was bad--oh, no honey.

Along the way, I had given the phone to Joy, to call the midwife and let her know the situation and we were on our way but there is terrible cell signal between Windsor and the hospital. She would get connected long enough to say, "My sister's water broke"dead--and then call back "She is feeling a lot of pressure"---dead. They told her to head to the ER but in a bit of a panicked confusion we headed to the front door. Yes, we forgot that it was locked after hours. No, we aren't complete idiots. If you know the road heading down to the front entrance, it is pretty windy and I nearly thought Mike missed the entrance and I was going to lose it but we made our way to front door, which, of course, was locked. So Mike ran to the door to call security to open the door which was taking FOREVER and when you look at the timeline, seconds matter in this wee story. It took at least a minute to get them to open it AND THEN Mike had to find a wheel chair which you would think would be right there. I had stood right up but then when I saw this was all taking a while, I sat back in my holding car position. I thought how funny it was going to be to have a baby at the locked front entrance of the hospital. Well, not so funny but at least we were at a hospital. That was progress.

I wish I had glanced at my watch at this point, but it must have been around 4:15 or so. He finally got in and got me a wheel chair. A really big one at that. It felt like 4 of me could sit in it. But then we were off running through the empty halls of DHMC. We ran to the elevator and went up a floor. Contraction! Then Mike booked it down the looooooooong hallway to what I thought was the Birthing Pavilion but of course we needed to go up one more floor. Contraction! So down to the elevator on the other end of the hallway. This would have added a minute or two. Ding! and out we BURST from the elevator and back down the loooooooooong hallway and left into the Birthing Pavilion. When we arrived in our rush, it seemed so quiet and many faces turned our way. The midwife and co had all gone down to the ER to wait for our arrival and so there was a bit of confusion when we showed up there, not the ER where they were expecting us. Luckily, they didn't stay confused long and one very pregnant nurse took me into the last open room (phew! and it was big). Joy was parking the car but I don't know where Mike went. Lisa, got me into a gown and on the bed and a monitor on the baby.

evidence: the long hallways

I felt relieved to have made it and suddenly had no urge to push. Lisa, mentioned that the baby's heartbeat was slow so she was going to check because maybe it was just because her head was down which she checked and yes, the head was right there. I remember her hitting the call button and asking where everyone was in a slightly panicked voice but then reassured me she had delivered babies on her own. I didn't really care at that point who was there. Then all of a sudden, they were all there as was Joy and Mike. Suzanne checked me out and said I could push whenever I felt like it and of course I didn't feel like pushing so waited for the first contraction and the games began. I felt so determined to get her out. I felt like she had been sitting there now, ready to come out for a half hour so it was time. I just kept wanting to push. Even when they told me to expect the burn, I just wanted to get her out and kept pushing through. In total, it was three contractions and some serious pushing. I was grateful this time around to know what to expect and "how to push"and felt very in control of what was going on. In the break before the last push, I remember asking how she was doing and they told me she was fine so I pushed one last time and she was out at 4:38AM.

I first noticed her red hair and was really surprised by it. Then I felt cold. Then I remember them commenting on the"beautiful umbilical cord" and the midwife asking Mike if he would take a picture of it. The next hour was spent in the usual way but it felt relaxed and lovely actually. I felt really good and energized and my little girl just stay nestled on my chest while they all did their thing and we all kind of laughed and chatted about the recent events. The midwife and nurses were awesome. Joy and Mike were awesome. It all happened so fast, they even they didn't have time to get specific times down but we tried our best to re-construct what all occurred. I hadn't totally decided on a name but she just stayed with me for a long while and once all the usual bits and pieces were taken care of me and my little girl fell asleep on my chest. Within her first hours, she started to nurse better than Lars ever did. Well, he was a tough case and didn't really latch on until 6 weeks so to see her find her way to the breast and start to figure it all out within hours was extremely reassuring and kind of amazing. We are still amazed at how well she eats.

I liked that they didn't wisk her right away to get weighed and measured and bathed. In fact, they didn't actually bath her until we had woken up hours later. Yes, they had cleaned her off after she was born but they did all of that with her right on me. Who knows what makes the difference but everything felt more relaxed the second time around and in turn, I was more relaxed and the baby was too. In fact, when I am able to get things done some day, I would like to send a thank you note to the midwives and nurses at DHMC for being rad. Sometimes, in my moments of fatigue, I long for the calmness and security of the experience I had with them all in those hours and days after she was born. It's funny because I am not a hospital kind of gal and would consider home births because well, I basically almost have them but this was a really great, but it was such a positive experience.

the turban.

2011-10-19T12:21:00.000-04:00

Since Liz has been with us she has been knitting up a storm and we are all benefitting from her creations. On their drive back from Canada she knitted this turban for our little lady. I found the pattern online and Liz whipped it up for her in this lovely soft multi-colored wool. It's a little big on her but fits better than any of her other hats and I LOVE it. Also thanks to Auntie Lucy for all the other lovely woolies she sent us from New Zealand. Good thing, it's cooling down round here.

1 & 2 weeks

2011-10-14T16:43:00.001-04:00

I started Lars' pictures at one month but I wished I had taken some before he was already a month so our little lady gets a few more. She's already made it past her birth weight and as you can see in these pictures, is much more alert in her little eyes in just the week. She rocks and her hair is indeed growing in bright red. It's amazing to me how different she looks to her big brother. He had this olive skin and dark hair with Mike's ears and eyelashes and she has this red hair and fair skin with my long fingers and legs. I wonder if they will look more alike as they get older. I guess my siblings all look very different. Crazy genes.

Our boy is always asking about his see-sta and wanted to hug and kiss her. It's really sweet. Yesterday, he was doing "this little piggy" and I got this video of my two little people together. He goes right into hug her so we always need to help him out there.

This little girl is waking up.

2011-10-07T14:55:00.000-04:00

She's waking up. Yesterday as I was sitting in my living room on the couch where my water broke and I was kind of amazed at how a week ago, it all happened.

After Liz gave our girl a bath this morning, our boy here decided that he needed to take a bath in her little bath as well. He was pretty into it.

Big Red & Little Red

2011-10-04T11:40:00.000-04:00

Our girl has a striking resemblance to her Grampy Larson. Well, at least, I think she does. She is already gaining her weight back and she is eating so very well that it is hard to believe.

My see-sta Rocky

2011-10-02T17:46:00.000-04:00

and the name is...

2011-09-30T13:28:00.001-04:00

Roxanne Beverly Cammock
but we like to call her Roxcy

Little Baby Girl Has Arrived!!

2011-09-29T06:18:00.001-04:00

Hey there all. So at 4:38am on September 29th Chris had a little baby girl. Everything went well. We arrived at the hospital 10 Mins before the baby was born. She weighs 7pound 3oz and is 19.5" long. Here are a few first pictures. Love you all.

the 40 week belly shot

2011-09-27T13:01:00.000-04:00

Liz has arrived! and with lots of amazing goodies as well! Thanks for all the New Zealand love everyone! Our boy is so lucky to have someone here devoted to him. Yay! Plus, my sister drove out from Illinois so the baby has to come before she needs to leave on Friday. Come on kid!

I haven't really taken any pictures of myself the last 10 months but I thought I would document the last week of this pregnancy at least once--I guess twice. My hair is in that awkward grow out wing phase which is awesome for a pregnant woman's already tenuous self conscious state. Oh well.

I have an appointment with my midwife this afternoon and I will say...I feel like something might just be starting to happen...to be continued...

She can come anytime now.

2011-09-25T12:17:00.001-04:00

BEFORE

The offending ceiling--pre leak

Th day we moved in back in 2008

note: awful carpet

On Labor Day after Mike came down and said, "I think you are going to want to pick out some paint colors". He said he was just going to "investigate the leak" but that led to this...

Mike quickly realized he needed help getting the ceiling down because

it weighed a million tons and we are pretty sure that it held flesh eating mold

that gave Mike an incredibly bad rash

Ceiling down and carpet up before the wall goes in

Wall going in and new ceiling going up

Wall up and now we have 2 big rooms instead of 1 ridiculously large room

AFTER

(not the best pix and it is a serious work in progress)

The not so organized closet side but it works

Mike worked really hard all day Tuesday and Wednesday so we could get back into our room before I had a mental breakdown and then we worked all night getting the house sort of put back together. Over the past few days my family has been incredibly helpful helping with our boy and cleaning all the dark nooks and crannies of my house--and there are many. It is still a work in progress and we have lots of bits and pieces to fix up but we are in and it's clean. Of course now that this is all set, the baby is going to wait it out. Today is the "due date" and I would like to get the show on the road but we'll see. I am kind of amazed how fast it all came together and Mike did this all while he has been suffering from a horrible itchy rash all over his legs and chest. I am thrilled to have 2 nice new spaces (with really nice hardwood floors) for our upcoming transition. The perfect oasis.

I have a lot of little design things I would like to do but it certainly is a vast improvement and now we have a walk in closet/room/nursery. Mostly everything I got as bargain as I could or already and spiffed up somehow. I have wanted to hang our Mexican headboard since we moved in and a lot of what I had went with that so I am finally able to kind of get it all working together with the paint etc. I am feeling like it is a little too matchy so I need to find ways to mix it up but we already really like having a bedroom without any dressers.

things are about to change around here

2011-09-18T15:41:00.000-04:00

I am technically due a week from today, September 25th (my parents 41st anniversary) and have had a few thoughts come in and out of my head the last couple of days about how our time of three is coming to an end. I feel for our boy but he's entered into toddlerhood with a a real zeal so I have a feeling that he's going to be just fine AND be a cool big brother. It'll be a transition, for sure but we are sort of wrapping our heads around it--well as much as we can. So far, I am feeling fine and still hoping she makes it the week so we can take our house out of disaster zone before she arrives. We are close. Mike is putting on the second coat of polyurethane today so we should be able to move back in Wednesday. The walls are painted and the wood floors are looking lovely, so much better than the shaggy grey carpet.

A few things on our kid before he's not our only one anymore that I note every inane detail for. I keep trying to get a little interview with him on a video because he talks a lot. Sure, Mike and I are probably the only ones who can really tell what he's saying but we know he is trying to say a lot. Yesterday, we took him to the new playground up from our house and he climbed up that wall 10 times without any problem and loves the biggest slide. He didn't even ever try the little ones-just straight to the big tube.

Independent? Yes. He is excited to leave us as he walks away waving and saying 'Bye Mama, Bye Da-dee'. Is his world about to be rocked? Yes, but so is ours so we'll all be going through it together.

woking wee da-dee.

2011-09-11T21:35:00.000-04:00

our bedroom side

closet/nursery side

We really should take down that TVdish for cable we don't have.

Our boy either wants to go upstairs to "woke wee da-dee" or points up stairs and says " dat doy-dee"because it's pretty dusty around these parts. I think he'll miss the room full of tools. He watches Mike very intently and tries to do just what he does. Cute kid.

The room(s) are coming right along. I think by Tues/Wednesday, we are going to be able to start painting. I actually love painting but I am not in the best shape to be on ladders so will be recruiting. Zach fixed the roof on Friday and they had to get a harness for him because the pitch on our roof is crazy steep. We didn't need any falling drama. The floors are sanding up really well and are actually in decent shape and infinitely better than before.

This week, I am on the look out for some real deals (some yard sale sweet finds perhaps) and hopefully this time next week, we will be moved back in and can get the house a little cleaned up before this little baby girl Cammock enters into our crazy world due 2 weeks from today. Even with the back aches, general fatigue and serious waddle I would prefer she stay IN that whole time and come home to a house a little more put together but whatever happens happens.

we had a little leak

2011-09-06T20:48:00.000-04:00

All summer long, we've had a leak in the ceiling in our bedroom but it became a steady stream of water over all the rain the past week. Although, we have always beens very skeptical of our ceiling since we moved in 3 years ago. It looked like a leprous monster and mom has told me numerous times that when she hears an ambulance, she thinks the ceiling has finally fallen in on us. The monster has in fact been soaking up gallons of water for months and since the ceiling was made of about 3 tons of cement and metal mesh, we had no idea what was happening until the leprous sponge was soaked and finally started to drip into our room. So this needed to be done.

Yesterday, Labor day, I had a small list of things I wanted to get done since the baby is due in 3 weeks but Mike was going "investigate" the leak a little more. I told Mom that was code for, tearing off the whole ceiling but I wasn't totally ready for the amount of destruction the project would cause. Good thing I spent the morning, cleaning out a bunch of other stuff because we needed all the boxes to pack up our room and shove them into any possible place all over the house. But, the renovation is moving right along. They got the whole ceiling down and the nasty nasty carpet up. There is a pretty decent wood floor and we've decided to actually build a wall to make the room into two because it is giant. That way, we'll have a walk into the closet/nursery on the other side.

I would have probably spent months obsessing over how and what to do but they will have the new ceiling up and floors sanded and it will be ready to be painted soon and I would LOVE to have my house back in working order before this one comes which I hope is not any earlier than expected.

I am very excited to have a nice clean space for us and the little one and am trying to find inexpensive/ free ways to get it all put back together.

Our big kid.

2011-09-01T21:09:00.000-04:00

August 2011

August 2010

I love those eyebrows.

new jersey, friends, birthdays, food, and fun

2011-08-23T15:10:00.002-04:00

We took a little summer vacay and headed south to see our friends in New Jersey over the weekend.Our boy was amazing on the long car trip and was so excited as we drove by Newark airport and spotted all the planes. Apparently all he needs is a little knight's helmet. I would say that Mike had a fantastic birthday weekend and our boy was in heaven with all the new games, toys, and willing kids to play WITH him. Plus, we had babysitting and took full advantage of that. I don't have pictures of everything but besides biking, beaching, relaxing, and fridge installing we also went out for really good Italian and Thai and of course 5 Guys. Mike was in heaven, I do believe. AND we picked up a vacuum for $49 that is awesome and now I can't stop vacuuming my life. But the topper was the amazing Kiwi cake made by our very own Cake Boss, Sara.

It was a stellar weekend.

He loved this car.

Today Mike is 30.

2011-08-19T02:00:00.007-04:00

Through the past 7.5 years with Mike: I think he's the sexiest, smartest, kindest, hottest guy around ;)

1. 2003- the first day I met him in Christchurch, New Zealand. Driving his dad's car.
2. 2004- when he came over for our wedding in January to Deming, New Mexico. He was totally fascinated by American football and Shannon was totally fascinated by him.
3. 2004 after Italy we went to Thailand on our honeymoon. This resemblance is uncanny.
4. 2005- then we moved to Taiwan. I saw a lot of the back of this helmet.
5. 2006- then we moved to New Zealand. Dutifully cooking up hamburgers on Christmas Eve for his wife's family tradition.
6. 2006- sailing in Greece. The best trip ever.
7. 2007- hiking in Nepal. oh wait, this was the best trip ever.
8. 2008- a green card and we move to the USA. I love his concentration face as he learns rockband.
9. 2009- Holding his firstborn.
10. 2010- Mike is an incredibly attentive father.
11. 2011- our family of three before it becomes 4. visiting New Zealand earlier this year.

Summer, where are you going?

2011-08-13T20:39:00.000-04:00

It can't nearly be the middle of August. I don't want to think about what that means. We've been busy the last few weeks and taken lots of little adventures with the herd, as we fondly call them. We went to Quechee Gorge and St. Gaudens earlier in the week. Today was a perfect summer day and we headed over to Echo Lake. It wasn't too hot out but lovely and warm. The lake water was pretty cold but the kids played for hours and Mike read for hours. Pretty darn good day. I think we are all going to sleep well tonight.

Mike's biggest beard yet

2011-08-10T21:32:00.000-04:00

Mike hasn't shaved since Mack's wedding in April. He's trimmed it to attempt to "thicken" the beard and it got pretty thick but also started to look kind of puffy and weird. He looks handsome either way but it's kind of nice to see his cheeks again.

Kahs.

2011-07-29T16:02:00.002-04:00

Our boy likes cars or "kah" sometimes "coy". I think it is appropriate seeing as how he has a car fanatic dad and grandad. One morning I found him nestled up behind the curtain perched on the edge of the couch. He was lining up his cars in a train (which is also very enthusiastic about) and played like that for what seemed to be an extraordinarily long time. My hope was that this was a new game that would be played numerous times to come--nope. Oh well, it was pretty clever while it lasted.

An afternoon at the pool.

2011-07-16T20:39:00.004-04:00

So we just got a cool new camera for the Summer. Waterproof, shock proof, drop proof, basically kid proof. Now we can just give the kids the camera and tell them to go crazy. Here is what we got!!

Mike

And here is a little one of Lars after eating some yummy Nachos:

Two.

2011-07-10T22:22:00.000-04:00

We officially have a two year old now. It was a pretty low-key celebration compared to the fiesta last summer. Mike and I are feeling exhausted for some reason which is why we didn't do a big hooray party like last summer but Kasey came over while she's here from Bangladesh and mom & dad too. He doesn't get it but we hung up some balloons and Mike made some killer pizzas (our new family bday tradition perhaps?) to go with some fruit salad and lemonade. Perfect summer fare. Last night around 7PM I thought I should probably think of a couple ways to make his day special so headed down to Dollar General and got 1.Slinky (big hit for $1) 2. Red Balloons (the only balloons in the store which I thought was crazy) 3.Packet of dinosaurs 4. #2 Candle. = $4 party fun!

Mike gave him this big train this morning before church (the kind you put under your tree) that is probably for ages 15 and up that he likes the idea of but is kind of freaked out by when it is turned on. It was free so no biggie but he loves taking the tracks apart and strewing them all over the house/yard. He had to keep a hand on grampy while the train was going so he felt safe I guess. We took a walk after we ate way too much delicious pizza (fresh mozzerella, tom, & basil!!!). We were trying to head home but then he detoured and basically took us to the train tracks where Mike had taken him once (good memory) and we walked along them for a ways until he was filthy and exhausted. I would say it was a good day and now I have stayed up way too long working on this. Time for bed!

Motorcycles

2011-07-05T07:58:00.000-04:00

Like I was saying, our boy is actually saying a lot of words but I am kind of the sole translator and even then he says a bunch of stuff that I haven't quite deciphered just yet. One of those words is motorcyle or "mo-sigh-kuh". He was very pleased with himself to be perched on top of my dad's bike. I couldn't actually get him off. I thought camo tank top was fitting attired to be on a bike with his sweet farmer's tan and all. Oh, we are classy.

New underwater camera and first dips in the pool

2011-06-21T13:20:00.006-04:00

Very glamorous picture of his parents by their 2 year old

It's summer which means pool time! We weren't sure how the boy was going to be in the pool since it has been quite a while but Mike got a a new waterproof camera so he was dying to see him under the water whether he wanted to go or not...He was fine (sort of) and I think it will be a summer of underwater videos!

23 months.

2011-06-10T14:56:00.006-04:00

This is the second to last picture I will be taking of our boy. I am just not sure how long it will still be cute to have him sit on our bed in a diaper. Mike thinks we should do it until he is 18 but I think we have given it a good run and can get ready for September when we will undertake version 2.0 with a girl. Maybe I will take an occasional one of him on the bed for kicks.

He basically talks all the time these days. I understand about 30% of the jumple of words and sounds but his vocabulary has grown a lot in the last couple weeks it seems so I am working on decoding. He seems to understand everything we say though. I do like "wsh" for "fish" and "BAH" for sheep. He is so super independent and stops us from helping do most things for him which is great but funny since he can't do most of them. We went to the pool for the first time yesterday and I think it is going to be a good summer at the pool for him. Once he warmed up to the idea, he seemed to like it. I need to get his "happy dance" on tape which he holds special for grandparents from what I can tell. He moves faaaaast and unfortunately, I am slooooowly recovering from my stupid fall so I can't keep up with him which he loves. He eats entire apples- core, seeds, stem, everything but he's not into gummy candy.

Hour 11 of our 10 hour layover at LAX

2011-06-04T09:46:00.000-04:00

Last day in ChCh.

2011-06-02T21:59:00.007-04:00

Glad we spent this day together. We really miss you all.

22 months - the big ride home

2011-05-29T10:17:00.005-04:00

flight to Auckland - Waking up after good sleep on long flight to LA

Hour 3 of 10 on layover in LA

Hour 11 of the 10 waiting for red eye to Baltimore

Waiting for flight to Boston

We made it home! It was a loooong trip back and I still have lots of pictures from NZ that I need to post but I thought that I would try to get some new ones of up our boy for the family that I am sure are missing this monkey. He traveled really well but we were in transit for 30+ hours and not even an adult copes well with that. He got into wearing his own backpack but he had to hold his hands to keep it on.

12 hour flight to LA
10 hour layover in LA (we created a little play area near some windows in the food court)
4.5 hour red eye to Baltimore
1.5 hour layover
1.5 hour flight to Boston
2 hour drive to Windsor.
PHEW!!!

There was only one moment on the full red eye flight to Baltimore on the budget airline that blew hot air, with an exhausted, sweaty toddler splayed out over my legs, my pants wet with sweat because it was that HOT, and extremely grumpy flight attendants that I thought I was going to SCREAM. We laughed, it passed, and 4 days later our boy is almost on the right schedule. It's been a few crazy messed up days and nights but not bad.

We returned to gorgeous warm weather. I love this season in Vermont. The trees are green, the lilacs were still out and it all smells so fresh. There was snow on the ground when we left so this is nice. I got right to getting our little patio garden planted to get it done before it was too late and was feeling pretty good about my progress despite jetlag and then BOOM, I sprain my ankle. I was watering our plants and just turned on my foot the wrong way and now I am unable to do anything. I have had it up and iced for the last 2 days so I am hoping a couple more days of this and the swelling and bruising will be down and I can walk again. So so so terribly inconvenient.
Oh well, moving on. Maybe I can get more NZ pictures up in the next fews days.

Beautiful Day.

2011-05-08T07:27:00.006-04:00

I told Mom I would get some new pictures up for her for Mother's Day and it is getting onto midnight here, so hopefully you can enjoy our little boy's face as you starting your day just about now. Actually, you have been probably been up for hours. I hope you have a wonderful day today Mom.

It has been a day full of yummy food and great company. Our boy is finding great ease in his toddlerhood and moving into his independence with great vigor which can be exhausting but I love everything about being his, especially when he says "hi" in his little sweet voice and leans his head in for a kiss and pats my back and grins with his little crooked front tooth.

It has been pretty overcast and rainy here but then on Thursday it was gorgeous, clear and sunny so we took a drive over the hills to Akaroa. We took turns driving with Mike in his dad's fast car along the windy roads to feel the wind rip through our air and feel the gravel jump into our seats. It was a blast. Being with Mike in that car reminds me of the first time I met Mike--literally-- so that's always exciting. We came over the summit roads as the sun was setting and drove above the cloud cover over Christchurch. It was beautiful.

Happy Mother's Day!

Wedding: party

2011-05-02T05:41:00.011-04:00

Later in the afternoon, there was a big reception in a nearby Stake centre. Lucy and Carly were the masterminds behind the transformation of the ugly ole rec hall into a lovely banquet. The flowers on the tables were all hand dyed and made as well as those amazing chandeliers. Yep, a real labour of sisterly love right there. Well done Lucy! Ite's family came in and added all the Fijian flair to make it quite the cultural mix not just in decor but also in traditions. Mack dressed in a kilt and Ite in traditional Fijian costume for their ring ceremony performed by Tom. Ite's family put on a feast for everyone. There was no reason to leave hungry. There was some special bedding set up that of course our boy immediately jumped into first thing. Mike gave a really great best man's speech and there was lots of laughter, dancing and good times. Definitely one of the best decorated and fun weddings I've been to. Lots of memories that I am sure we will be talking about for a long time to come. This is a fun video from the festivities...

Wedding: temple

2011-05-02T04:17:00.013-04:00

Finally, here are a few pictures from the wedding on the 23rd. Man, the kids looked so cute. Of course, our little boy was starving and we didn't have food for him so thank goodness for great grandma Vylma and her granola bar. The weather was beautiful and clear and Mack & Ite looked great. Stay tuned for a few more of the reception.

21 months (better late than never).

2011-04-27T20:44:00.004-04:00

So this is a few weeks late but the 10th came right as we were leaving for New Zealand and I just didn't get the picture in. This one was taken while we were on a lay over in California and he was finding this dog very cool.

He had a pretty rough transition over. Within the first few days, he ran into a table and got a black eye, got a fever, and then tripped and pushed one of his little front teeth back and its a bit wonky now. It looks goofy but cute. Hopefully this week I can find some time to put up a couple more pictures of the wedding and our times here.

The first leg

2011-04-12T23:21:00.003-04:00

After a what seemed like an endless day, he is finally asleep for the night. Except for the hour, pictured above, our boy stayed wide awake for all 9 hours of travel time today and that was after being woken up at 3AM for the ride to the airport. Yippeee! I am really glad I packed as much food as I did. I would also like to thank the flight attendant who brought the lidded cup of ice as a distraction tool at one breaking point. That kept him entertained for a good 20 minutes and then there was the 30 minutes of putting stickers all over his body. It was all good, just long and we were tired to begin with so it is nice to be in Santa Monica for the night so we can get some rest before the 13 hour flight tomorrow night. Mike and Josh are off to a movie and I am off to bed.

What sound does a train make?

2011-04-09T09:23:00.004-04:00

We have train tracks in Windsor and hear a lot of trains. It's a small town so even though we don't live near the tracks, it kind of sounds like we do. Mike is always trying to get him to show off his train sounds but never does; it has to be spontaneous.

Updates!

2011-04-08T23:04:00.006-04:00

Tom & Mike Levesque: Plumbers in Windsor for the last forever

We got fully funded for our 250 Project which is cool and sort of unexpected. We ended up with 141 backers and just over our goal of $10,000 and are in the midst of getting print quotes for a book and brewing ideas for a cool gallery show in town in July. I got some shots this week but I am going to have to do the majority of mine when I get back from New Zealand in May. I am starting to work on the book layout though which is something I have always wanted to do.

The Inn has been continuing to grow with events and guests. Mom and Dad were in New Mexico for a month but are back now so I really hope it starts to warm up more because it was 90 and sunny down there and the snow is just barely gone here.

It's been maple sugaring season the last few weeks here. I went to a local sugar house to take some pictures of the family that operates it. There are some more pictures on the Inn blog. I watched them gather the sap, boil it down, and went home with a quart of fresh, warm maple syrup. I forgot how good it is. If you are looking for the real deal, you can order from their etsy store here.

So we head out of here in a few more days. It has been usually busy plus tax season so Mike has had a lot of extra work. Of course, I am trying to think of ways to take as little as possible and only check one bag. We'll see how that goes but we are very excited to see all the family and have real fish n' chips!

I wanted to share the sweetest video of our little man rocking out but the file is too big and it is late and I should not even be up anymore. But this was one of the parts of March. The Birthday cake McKay made for me. I've had a red velvet cake the last several years and she made a rainbow red velvet cake. It was pretty cool.

Our latest project.

2011-03-15T20:04:00.009-04:00

Most of you who read this have probably heard about our Windsor 250 project but let me wax on for a moment:

Firstly, it's about creating and how energizing that can be and we are jazzed about this. But I was also thinking the other night about how important Windsor, Vermont is, celebrating its 250th year and how documenting it in this way is going to last for generations. How cool would it be to have some sort of collection like this from it's 100th year that we could look at today? The information and history we can gather will be priceless not only for this town but as a snapshot of a small American town in 2011. I know it can be hard to donate money, especially in this kind of economy where gas is a small investment, but If we could find a whole bunch of people to even pledge $1 to this project, we'd be golden because every dollar we raise will help us make the project that much better. People of Vermont, People of all places, help us creatively document our history!!!!!!!

Thank you to our backers thus far! We've raised $1,500 this week but we have some ground to cover in the next 3 weeks to make our goal. If you can think of a way we can spread the word more or know other art advocates, send them the link! Let's get the word out and help the birthplace of this beautiful state have an outstanding 250th year! Windsor deserves it big time.

20 months.

2011-03-11T14:02:00.004-05:00

Our Boy Genius.

2011-03-09T21:51:00.005-05:00

1 year 7 months

2011-02-15T13:38:00.010-05:00

Our boy is talking more these days but we don't understand most of it. He said a word the other day that sounded a lot like "google" which we thought was cool or perhaps sad since we must say, "Google it" a lot. His consonant sounds are expanding and he says "cackuh" for anything treat like to eat. He deliberately tries to tap his foot when he dances now. He's been learning his facial features and body parts which means lots of eye poking, eyelash grabbing, and little fingers up our noses. He is very investigative. Of course as I sit here, I can't remember all the other things he is doing but it's plenty. He plays in the bath longer, likes to perch on top of the pillows on our bed with the calculator; he has his spots. He's got the most amazing high pitch squeal when he wants to get our attention, which is all the time. It's pretty awesome, especially in that car, like our very own dog whistle for the dog we don't have.

He woke up from his nap and is yelling for me to get him so I will add to this later... maybe.

Memories of Uncle Rob

2011-02-14T13:16:00.003-05:00

When I was young it seemed that every year the combined Cammock families would travel to Lake Lyndon and spend a week in the mountains. As a child, and then a young man, I still recall the best part of those trips came late in the evening, normally after the dishes were done and we were all eating our third round of chocolate pudding and ice cream.

All the cousins would crowd around Pete and Rob and probe them for stories of when they were young. We were looking for stories we had been told a hundred times before, but never grew tired of hearing.

I remember tales of Uncle Rob taking a rubbish bin lid and a cricket bat and cricket helmet to the South African All Black Rugby game and getting into it with the police.

There were stories of my dad and Uncle Rob car racing. Retellings of four wheel drifts and lap records around the Avonside Drive-River Rd racing circuit. Even one of Pete speeding to Church with Rob in the passenger seat and Grandma Marg hitting Pete over the head as be slid sideways through an intersection. Then my favorite vehicle related story of Rob getting ticketed for speeding on his motorbike (Aunt Viv may or may not have been on the back) and then two days later having the same officer for his driving test. (As I recall the officer was a little confused.)

I remember confessions of how dad pulled uncle robs car to bits for spare parts while Rob was on his mission and then not understanding why it was an issue when Rob finally got home.

Then there was the classic Church YSA activity story where Rob drove a Land Rover filled with YSA into a 20ft deep lake.

I always enjoyed the brotherly camaraderie of Dad and Rob trying to beat up a drunk man at the garage late one friday night because he had cut them off (likely during a street race).

Then there were the antiestablishment stories like Dad and uncle Rob being “two of only 10 unemployed people in NZ” after quitting work at lunch time on Monday, knowing full well they would be paid for the full week.

Then there was the infamous tale of Uncle Rob wrestling a man at the local fish and chip store while he was the Bishop. It appears the man was an uncooperative inactive.

It seems that everyday I recall an exciting story I heard sitting at the knees of “Uncle Rob” and “Uncle Pete” as they entertained us into the late night hours. The funny thing is after all these years i am not even sure that any of these tales have been inflated or embellished.

The vitality and energy of these stories has followed Uncle Rob his whole life and has rubbed off on the whole Cammock extended family.

My life has been so completely and positively influenced by the relationship Uncle Rob has had with our family. No story of my fathers youth was complete without the inclusion of Uncle Robs heroics and there seems to have been few family adventures that I was involved in that did not have Uncle Rob at the helm leading the way.

In a world filled with families that have no examples to look up to, no leader in the family to embody the virtues that we should strive to emulate, I count myself privileged to have been blessed with two, my father and his older brother, Uncle Rob.

Above all, it is the uncompromising love Uncle Rob has had for his brother Pete and his family that has been the bedrock in my life. I realize Rob has been a reinforcing pillar in our extended families success’. I have personally been so blessed by an Uncle that loved his brother and provided me, his nephew, with that same love.

Uncle Rob’s example has helped show me what is means to be a brother, father, husband, friend and a son. His character has fostered bonds that have shaped our families. His tenacity for life and his sense of adventure has pushed all of us to experiences that we have been privileged to share. His generosity has provided so much for so many, and never with a concern for the personal sacrifice such generosity required.

He has been an example in his community of character, commitment, love and humility. He has always stood for his beliefs, and fought for what was right. He loved and was loved - by his family most of all.

In finishing I would like to share a more humorous story of my own.

Once when I was around 13 an older boy from school bullied me. He pushed me off my bike and jumped on the wheels and bent them all out of shape. My mum and dad had him come round to our house and mow our lawns one weekend to “make him pay for his poor behavior”, mum was all into “natural consequences” at the time.

A few days later I was in the car with Uncle Rob driving towards the Milton St dairy. I pointed out to uncle rob the boy who had pushed me off my bike. Uncle Rob immediately slammed on the brakes, pulled over to the side of the road, jumped out of the car and yelled at the boy. This boy was around 16 and was easily as tall as Uncle Rob. Rob pointed at me and asked the kid to back off on the bullying or the kid would get it.

What happened next was, to me at least, one of the best retributions of my life. The kid yelled back at Uncle rob calling him an old man and telling Uncle Rob he was a ninja. Uncle Rob yelled, “Ninja this you little (can’ quite remember all the words that came next but you can use your imagination)”, picked him up by the scruff of his neck and lifted him right off his feet and pushed him up against the Dairy wall.

Needless to say in the next few seconds I was being apologized to by a humble high school punk and don’t ever recall being bullied by him again.

I remember feeling so proud to have Uncle Rob in my corner. I remember the feeling I had as Uncle Rob got back in the car and said, in a very casual manner, “doesn’t look like you need to worry about that kid any more.”

I loved my Uncle Rob very much. Distance and life has made less time recently for the adventures we shared when our families were younger, but the legacy of adventure, commitment and love that Uncle Rob provided as our families grew up together will be with me forever.

Our love and prayers are with all of you.

Cousin Mike and family.

2011-02-09T13:30:00.004-05:00

Tragerhose: wearing pants

2011-01-27T20:38:00.005-05:00

We received these woolen overalls in the mail today from kiwi-grandma liz or kima. Basically anything with 2 syllables he'll say in some form so Mike came up with this. Anyway, I saw these very same tragerhose (Leilani told me that means wearing pants in German) at a boutique in Woodstock last year and thought they were pretty sweet. They are super soft. He looked so European to me, today. I guess his name is Lars. Makes me smile.

More snow pictures.

2011-01-26T21:18:00.002-05:00

Snow suit.

2011-01-13T12:35:00.007-05:00

We got 20+ inches of snow yesterday. We played in it a lot and tired the boy right out. A few more pictures on the Inn blog.