June 28, 2007

sweet smiles!


sweet smiles!
Originally uploaded by gennabby.
See, he really is smiling at us! Noah's smiles look so much like Abby's :) He has sparkly brown eyes, like his daddy; chipmunk cheeks, like his mommy; and he is getting Yoda ears, like his Uncle Adam. Isn't he fetching? We think he is as handsome as can be.

first quilt!


first quilt!
Originally uploaded by gennabby.
I am learning how to sew quilts! It is an involved process, to be sure. But it suits my personality. I enjoy spending time and energy on making something that someone will (hopefully) want to keep and that will communicate that I love them. Quilts are better than cards because they are also practical, but they take a LOT longer to make! They are an excellent alternative to writing one's dissertation...

I'm taking a mental break at the moment, but I plan to return to academic thinking after our trip back East. Quilting may be the quiet hobby that keeps me sane as I write and study.

folding factory


folding factory
Originally uploaded by gennabby.
Abby folded ALL of the clothes you see here! She can be a big help, especially if "the job's a game" (as Mary Poppins puts it). Yay for helpers around the house!

June 23, 2007

mommy and baby


mommy and baby
Originally uploaded by gennabby.
Noah is my sweet little prince. I just love having a boy!

Noah 6/23


Noah 6/23
Originally uploaded by gennabby.
He looks JUST like his sister (except for the "bull nose" round nostrils and the turning-brown eyes). Noah has just started to give us real smiles! They are so precious (and they make up for the night-time wail fests that happen from time to time).

First swim of the summer


happiness
Originally uploaded by gennabby.
We got a summer pass to the local pool. Noah and I lounged in the shade (he lounged, I bounced and patted) while M and A went down the big slide and played in the mushroom waterfall.

June 18, 2007

new dress


new dress
Originally uploaded by gennabby.
Here is one little dress that Pam helped me put together! I am learning how to sew a "french seam," so this smocked fabric was perfect to start out with. We're loving this!

The other day in a fabric store, Abby was telling me how much she would like to learn to sew. Having just watched an episode of a fashion show on television (and being a big fan of "Project Runway"--a show about fashion design), I began imagining my daughter as a top designer. Just as I was thinking "She could be the next Vera Wang!":
G: you could even design your own clothes!
A: Yeah! And I could sew clothes for the orphans and give them to them!
It was a stunning dichotomy of images, and I looked at her and teared up. What a lovely thought. Then I began thinking about how she could clothe tons of orphans by selling just one designer gown, but I didn't say that out loud. I like the way she thinks and the tenderness she has in her heart for the orphans of the world. If she spent the rest of her life sewing scraps together for kiddos without parents, I would be the proudest momma in the whole world.

June 17, 2007

Happy Father's Day


handsome daddy
Originally uploaded by gennabby.
Look at this pro. Matty is an awesome dad; he is so capable and so loving. I'm more in love with him the more I get to watch him parent our children! This father's day we get to celebrate having two kiddos and seven years of marriage. This year has been the best yet, without question. So, happy father's day, Matty! The same to all of the dads out there :) And Happy 7th anniversary, baby; I hope we get to celebrate at least another 60 of these before we go home. I love you.

sew much fun!


sew much fun!
Originally uploaded by gennabby.
My friends Pam and Charlie gave me a sewing machine for Christmas, and Pam is giving me sewing lessons!! I'm sure the seamstresses out there think that sewing a straight stitch is not daunting, but I have always wanted to sew and have always been afraid that it was too hard for me to learn. Well, I made a tiny quilt for Abby's groovy girl dolls yesterday! Abby is a big helper (she is practicing ripping hems in this pic). She likes to put her foot on the pedal and make the machine whir. If her driving speed is anything like her sewing speed, we will make her wear a helmet and visit the track. Pam and I are going to finish a baby quilt for Noah, and I am putting the finishing touches on a couple of sun dresses that we made yesterday. This is so much FUN! I hope that I'll improve with practice.

June 14, 2007

2 months and growing

Noah had his 2 month check-up yesterday. All is well. He now weighs 10 lb. 8.5 oz., which puts him in the 15th percentile, but when age corrected (i.e. pretend he is only one month old, like he "should" be), he is at the 50th percentile! He is 22 inches long now (up from 17 3/4 inches at birth). Noah has been doing some major growing!

He did get four shots (two nurses with two shots each). He has been uncomfortable since. He has a low grade fever, keeps throwing up his medicine, has very little appetite, and is just a pitiful sight with his sad eyes. He seems to be asking: "Momma, daddy, why do I feel so yuckie? Can't you make it all better?" So sad.

M and I are pretty tired. Conan (late night TV talk show host) was making less sense to me than usual last night in my delirium. I felt like my eyes were crossing or not focusing properly this morning as I made coffee. I'd make a terrible truck driver--I need lots of sleep, and I get loopy when I go long stretches with interrupted sleeps. Matthew too--just two nights ago he walked into the kids' room and ran into the crib in his sleep! (That used to be our room, so it makes sense that he was heading that way). He also talks in his sleep and swats his arms around if he is super tired...maybe this is where Noah gets his tendency to wake himself up by bapping himself in the face with his arms!

All in all, we're fine. In a day or two, Noah will be feeling much better.

June 4, 2007

floor d'oeuvre, take 2

A long while back I wrote about Abby eating an old chicken nugget from the floor. Well, she has topped that. I got a call from her school this afternoon:"You might want to come pick Abby up and call her doctor; she swallowed a staple." Apparently she found a staple on the ground during her nap (I think this is a great reason to not have naps anymore), bent the arms of it a bit and "somehow" the staple jumped down her throat. I can't get the clearest idea from Abby of how this happened, but I am pretty sure that it didn't go down her wind pipe--that would be cause for alarm, but she shows no signs of irritation in her chest; no coughing, no trouble breathing, no spitting up blood, etc. Her doc said to give her cheese pizza, which would hopefully surround the staple in her tummy and make it easy to pass. I'm hoping that she learns an important lesson from this! NO MORE non-food items in the mouth unless the item is a musical instrument or a toothbrush. Watch, the kid will gag on grass and insist that grass-buzzing counts as making music.