Bad Haircuts and the Smell of Summer

What a rainy weekend. I LOOOOVE it. The deck has been done for over a week now, and we are getting tons of use out of it. I plan to eat as many meals out there as weather will allow until it's too cold once again. The choice to have the builders add a gate in front of the stairs was the best one we made with reference to the deck (well, maybe the second best choice-- choosing natural cedar over chemically-treated wood was probably the best, since Benjamin has already been CHEWing on the boards) as it makes the difference between liberal use of the deck and sparing use. It's like a big playpen that Benj can crawl around on without risk of falling off.


The best part of a new deck, so far, has been the smell. Most especially when it rains, it smells like the docks along a lake. I can close my eyes and imagine I'm actually at a lake, and it's heaven.

Speaking of lakes, we made our annual reservation to go to Lake Ojoboji this summer. We'll be going in season this year so it should be warm enough to actually swim in the lake, and all the shops, stores, etc. should be open for summer tourists. The best part is that our vacation will not coincide with my parent's vacation up there, and this is also the worst part in some ways. The up side is less stress from tension between my mother and I, and the worst part is that there will be no sitters on hand to watch the boys so Mike and I can escape for a dinner out or some quiet time. It's become crystal clear to me that I need to reconceptualize my definition of "vacation." Now that we have more than one child, vacations at this point will be a very different experience than they were in the past. Less eating out, less relaxing, and less "me" (or "us") time. They will be more about kid-friendly activities, and the days will still be structured around naptimes, snacks, and early bedtimes. I'm trying to realize that I won't be able to do the same things I'm accustomed to doing on vacation, but at the same time appreciate that I wouldn't have it any other way. We're excited to go (even though it's 2 months away of waiting time...)

Benjamin will be one year old a week from today. Yikes, that last year sure went fast. We're planning a small family party next weekend to celebrate his birthday, and I'm hoping for great weather. Thus far weather.com says there should be a 0% chance of rain...but we all know how that can change in a week's time. He's walking a lot now, though usually falls after several steps. He's a climber, too. Last week I caught him climbing up on the handle for the drawer under the oven and standing up tall enough to reach his hands up and touch the front burners. He also climbs all the stairs in the house, from the basement to the bedrooms (that's 3 flights), and climbs up the table by our front door and hangs precariously off the side, trying to get to cell phones and keys. I can already tell we should expect a handful at age 2... he has a tendency to fall down and flop around on the floor like he's been beaten if you walk away when he wants attention. This type of over-dramatic tantrum will be far less adorable when he's 2 and a half.

Jack is talking a mile a minute and comes up with the funniest phrases. I like hearing him talk (most days) and find him pretty entertaining. My new favorite Jack phrase came about when he was sitting on Mike's lap, playing MarioKart on the Wii. A squid came and darkened their windshield for a few seconds, and he says "Hey! I can't see Jack!" Heh heh. Too young to understand the double-meaning, but funny for me. Mike decided to give him a haircut the other night. I should know better when I hear my husband say, "How hard can it be?" As I watched him use our blunt office scissors to trim the top of Jack's hair, and remove the attachment from his electric razor to do the bottom of his scalp and over his ears, I knew it was a big mistake. The next morning Jack took a little trip to Cost Cutters to repair the damage. The bright side is that Benjamin will never see this fate, since Jack will have to be the guinea pig for these types of parenting mishaps :)

5 months till new baby comes and I'm finding myself in a bit of a dissertation rut. You'd think there would be no better motivator.... I have trouble starting new chapters because I'm back at square 1, with a new topic, new reading, and blank pages. If I can get over the hump and get at least 10 pages written, I think I'll start moving at a better pace again. But for now I'm stuck in frustration. Hopefully this week will get me moving. Congratulations to Dr. Lexi, who successfully defended her own diss. last week....I'm so happy and inspired!! Sarah, you are next. I see graduation hats flying....

Benjamin's First Easter

Happy Easter Baby


The first two photos were taken before Jack got up. Once he did, he resumed his usual "picking on of the younger brother"...

hitting Benjamin with his basket...

and stealing Benjamin's basket away. Won't the little one be pleased when there is a new little one for *him* to pick on? Sigh.

We went to the usual city-held secular Easter Egg hunt. It was a 30-second mad dash to gather eggs on a field. Not a hunt. They had face-painting and fire trucks to climb in, so all was not lost.

This egg matches his pants:

Total bewilderment....


Jack saw his buddy, Jaxson, hunting for eggs, too. The poor guy only got one bite sized Snickers, so Jack was urged to share :)

On the fire truck






It's raining today, so no work on the deck. Sniff, sniff. It does look pretty in the rain, though...

Bring on the 60-degree weather!

adding on

our lives have been a bit of a whirlwind with a lot of "new" stuff these past few days. and our checkbook is on fire from it all! on wednesday we paid our midwife half of her total bill, and then 2 hours later, paid a downpayment for our new deck. the very next morning we marched ourselves over to the toyota dealership and bought a minivan. yes, a minivan. i'll look at it as a necessary evil at this juncture in our lives. i'm trying to adjust to driving a larger vehicle, but i'm sure at some point i'll learn to like the practicality of all that space. it's nice; just not the type of vehicle you dream of buying someday. it is a TIGHT fit in the garage, too!

Jack thinks it's great. He's the most exciting out of all of us about the new van.

Benjamin was better with it before the carseats were installed.

This was the deck torn up, and the new cement poured, as of last night.

As of lunchtime today, the main level of the deck is already down. I love the smell of cedar!

Fun weekend in Iowa City

We spent the past three days in Iowa City, hanging out with my brother and some of my great grad school friends and their families. The time went too fast, and as expected, it was a lot harder working "catch up time" around two kids than when we head over there alone. It was a different kind of trip to IC than we usually take; most often Mike and I go to relax and have time away, leaving kids with grandparents. It's often about eating out at adult restaurants and staying up late with friends we rarely see. This time we took both children, so it was a child-centered trip for sure. We hit the Children's Museum, the mall play area, the carousel, the ped mall park, and several kid-friendly restaurants (though really, what restaurant is truly child-friendly when your kid insists of throwing vegetables and rice all over the floor?). We spent LOTS of time at the hotel pool, and their water slide was a hit. I have gotten so bad at thinking to take photos recently, so I have none of Sarah or Lexi, and only one of Carrie (and that's really of the kids at the museum). I guess that those relaxing, adult moments come so rarely these days that I enjoy them rather than document them. Anyway, here are a few photos I did manage to take (arguably child-centered) this weekend:

Uncy Adam was Jack's favorite part of the trip. He went down the slide with Adam dozens of times. He kept telling me he was going to go to Iowa City to see "Uncy Adam, Sarah, and Santa Claus." Hmm.


It was Benjamin's first time swimming, and he loved it. He splashed and screamed and was quite the little fish.



The mall carousel was a big hit. He rode it several times over the span of 2 days.


Jack and Eleanor shopping at the Children's Museum (oh, wait, there's Carrie and Rob, too! :)


Future puppeteer?





Benjamin is now 11-months-old and I've started thinking I may need to give more thought to his first birthday party. I believe by the time Jack turned 11 months, I had already sent out the invites! Poor second child. We'll probably go smaller this year, given that it's his first bday and he doesn't truly have any "friends" yet. Most likely just family and a cake. Hopefully the weather will be nice so we can do it at the park. Who knows, though, seeing that we had a smallish blizzard on April 5th!

He had a particularly rough day recently:

odds and ends

We had a weekend filled with fun company, un-fun colds, and prepping for our increased family size.

Benjamin managed to climb our stairway when we weren't watching, thus up went yet ANOTHER baby gate. 3 gates in one home...it's a little looney. You can't get anywhere, it seems, without passing a check point. Here is the little man helping put up the baby gate that is supposedly keeping him from climbing the stairs:


We finally ate our words and bought a double stroller. We considered for a few moments getting one that fits 3 (anyone heard of the Joovy Big Caboose? Sounded nice for our upcoming situation...but we just couldn't bite on something SO BIG).


Aren't they cute when they're sleeping?


Nothing like terrorizing your little brother:


My high school friends and I had our monthly gathering but this time included spouses/children. Benjamin got to see his buddy, Asia, who he'd met this summer at my friend Alicia's wedding. They were re-smitten with one another.

Life is what happens when you're busy making plans

This is a phrase my friend Carrie recited to me not too long ago when I found myself mulling over all the things I wanted my life to be and wasn't finding. How true of a statement it is. It has never been more true for me than it has in the past few months as I've found myself dealing with a whole new shock to the juggling act I've created for myself this year. Just when I think I've got a good plan for finishing my dissertation and shifting my focus to other things, I find out we're expecting...again! It's been a loooooooooong adjustment. One that started with disbelief and transitioned to dismay and stagnated in denial for awhile. But I think we've all finally wrapped our heads around the face that Case Haub #3 will be coming about 2-3 years sooner than we had in our "plans." We told my family today, and so I figure with that out of the way, I might as well start owning it and sharing it with friends, too. And so, there it is!

My plan is still to finish a full draft of my dissertation by September, which coincidentally will be good timing, as our due date is somewhere at the end of September/beginning of October. The Universe has clearly concocted a way for me to maintain my goal and keep it this time. I guess the revisions process and actual defense/graduation will include a little body strapped to my back, but as long as I can crank out the entire draft before (s)he arrives, I plan to feel okay about that. Our heads are spinning with images of minivans (really, how else will we fit 3 car seats and any extra stuff in one vehicle?) and double (triple?) strollers and three kids in three years. My "plan" was never to rush the process of having kids, despite all the feedback I'm getting about "getting diapers out of the way at once" and "getting it all over with early on." I had hoped to have a break from pregnancy long enough to look forward to doing it again, and to miss having a baby. None of this seems to have panned out....but like I said, I'm trying to own it at this point! So now I'm eager to just enjoy the remaining 6 months of this pregnancy rather than continue in my anxiousness. There were undoubtedly be challenges, but it is what it is....and I'm sure when I look into the eyes of our new little one, I'll forget all my worries.

On a very sweet note (which you who have children will probably tell me I'm crazy), I have felt the baby move twice in the last few days. I just passed the first trimester so it seems unlikely, but being that I've done this a couple times before, I'm positive those flutters were something more than gas. I did a little google searching and found several discussions that included women on their 3rd and 4th pregnancies who swear they felt movements as early as 10 or 11 weeks. So I'm trusting myself that I'm not mistaken :) We'll see what the midwife says.

To add a little stress to our family's lives and a bit to ours because of their's, we're following our hearts this time rather than the mainstream and planning a homebirth. I'm very comfortable with the CNM I'm seeing (certified nurse midwife) and have hopes that all will remain low risk and normal so that we can go awhead with the plan. I haven't yet checked into the rates of renting a birthing tub or hiring a doula, but so far it seems that trying to simplify birth by keeping it out of a hospital means a greater financial burden to many families--our insurance won't pay a dime since we're going to be "out of network," so that means we'll play quadruple for a homebirth than we would for a hospital one. As much as that irks me, I don't want to fold to $3,000. Birth is so powerful and I learned well from my previous ones that memories--both good and bad-- of how it went will stay with you, so I want to make it count as much as possible this time around. I guess we'll see how it goes!

So, humph. Got that all off my chest. It's kind of nice to share the "secret" that I was so worried to unleash ;)

Onto non-baby news, we finally took Jack to fly a kite today. He's been talking kites for months, and hearing "when the snow melts, Jack can fly a kite." We came through on our promise and he had a good time. Bring on spring!






Benjamin got to enjoy walking behind a push toy outside with real (hand me down) shoes on. He's also been jumping into the world of solid food like never before. He resisted solids for a long time, maybe till about a month and a half ago. And now he's taking food right off our plates. He dove into my chicken and rice the other night. Out the door went my stipulations about introducing one food at a time to be cautious about food allergies.... he wants to eat what we are eating. Maybe he never meant to resist solids at all; but just preferred hamburgers to pureed beets?

just another pretty face

Benjamin is 10 months old now, and both his hair and teeth are coming in like crazy. I had to put up some more photos of the babe.