first steps

ransom took his first steps today (to me!!) in the presence of daddy and sisters. he has been standing up and balancing really well the last week and wouldn't you know it paid off. what fun to see him with a big grin of satisfaction (i did it!). he is also waving hi and said "hi da da" to graham yesterday. he is so interactive. such a reward.

technical difficulties

i need to the expertise of my dear husband to help me shrink the images - sorry about the weirdo pictures!

pictures from birthday

will be forthcoming...

late night camping

kyrie fell asleep this afternoon and had a pretty long nap - which she usually doesn't take - thus by the time 7pm rolls around she is pooped. as i said, she had a good long snooze so while rhys was out as soon as she tucked in to her bed, kyrie was wide awake and telling me she wasn't sleepy. i told her ok you can stay up another hour and play quietly in your room. she decided to have a 'camp out' in the hallway with all of her dolls. i have posted some pictures of her campsite. what an imaginative child. i love seeing her play. i keep thinking that i am seeing myself as a child, while i watch her. enjoy these snapshots in to kyrie's late evening adventure.

weaning weany

ok so i couldn't take the 3 days of engorgement (my attempt at cold-turkey weaning of ransom, age 1 year). so tonight i said okay to a non-dairy diet and yes to stopping the agony of the enormous breasts which hurt like huge bruises everytime something touches them. i expressed using my pump and then woke the little guy up to get the rest out. oh man do i feel like a new woman. you ask - what made me decide to stop this madness? i got myself some edjucation. i started reading some web sites about weaning etc and i realized that i had not really planned out this undertaking. the best way to wean him is to do it gradually. my mom had suggested this but i bull-headedly plunged ahead with the all or nothing regimen. i lost a good 5+ lbs. cutting dairy out of my diet and it wasn't that bad. i just have to be more creative and careful about our diet. anyone for ezekiel bread? (this stuff is super yummy - dairy free - and is so good for you!) and tonight i will sleep in comfort. oh joy. thank the lord that babies are incredibly forgiving. poor little fellow. he didn't know what was going on but was a good sport. hardly complained but boy was he happy to be back on the breast. when i initially tried to nurse him (after waking him up) he was not happy. i thought oh man - i did it - i successfully got my son to reject me. but then i offered it again and yep he took to it. thank you jesus. so the nursing saga continues.

check this out!

as most of you know, my friend alston wise designed ransom's birthday invitations. she has a web site up for her stuff. www.alstonwisedesign.blogspot.com. check it out. her stuff is terrific. this mama has talent!

my boy

yes sir my boy ransom is 1 year old now. we had a fabulous birthday party on sunday (also celebrating marmie's 54th birthday too!) i'd say there were at least 30 + people there. we had salve kids, cousins from new hampshire, friends from church, playgroup, preschool, family down up from annapolis, and neighbors. we had chili and dogs and then everyone brought something yummy to share. graham made an ice tea bar in our wet bar. it was really cute - he had signs for each kind of speciality tea and bowls of fresh mint and spearmint from our garden. i can't wait to post the pics. natalie made the most delicious cake ever - dulce de leche cake from argentina. i have requested it for my birthday. ransom blew out (well actually marmie, rhys and i blew out his candle) his wish on a cupcake topped with cool whip (as we have now confirmed his eczema is caused from an allergy to milk, although the peanut did not come up on his skin test, only on the blood test.) graham played happy birthday on the piano - and the kids all gathered around. we had our dear friends from boston - the wises. truly it was a wonderful afternoon. the lord helped me with my usual pre-party meltdown. i was able to take it easy b/c natalie had me organized and there were so many who were helping out. the credit goes to natalie, graham, annie (our neighbor), mark and rebecca, and all who brought food, the salve kids and the weather man (God of course). oh yeah did i mention the weather was gorgeous? 75 and sunny - a spectacular autumn day. we prayed that it would be a party where all felt loved and welcomed. our prayer was that those who came into our home would feel the warmth of christ. that the kingdom would be rushing in around us.

i got a bit emotional (didn't cry) thinking about ransom's birth and all of the memories of that time last year - i can't believe its already been a year. not only that but the bittersweetness of the day was heightened b/c i weaned him cold turkey on sat evening. so i was in some serious pain throughout the day. its been 3 days and i am still pretty soar. he seems to be doing fine. i am making a special effort to hug him and be close before i lay him down for naps or bedtime in his crib.

mondays

we have returned from our little week down in annapolis (with a short dinner over at Eli and Allisons in NYC!!). it was a lovely week - very low key. since we have had so much company this summer i decided to take it easy and not see anyone down in md. so that is what we did. the kids were so good. (although it sure is nice to have my hubby with us - he came on the weekend for the navy reunion.) seems like the kids need their dad so much. so i am thankful for graham once again.

i started a sewing project - a tutorial. rebecca walked me through making skirts for the girls. there is one that is almost complete and one that is cut out but hasn't been sewn. i made them out of blue and white ticking and will do some embroidery on the hem. of what i am not sure. maybe their names - maybe a short phrase like "jesus loves the little children". something creative and out of the box. however in order to finish these new skirts i have to get in touch with the lady from craig's list who sold me the machine. oh yeah did i mention that (not knowing diddly about machines etc.) i bought the machine without the foot pedal. yep - so i can't use it yet. ugggh. pray that the lady returns my phone call. thanks all. if not - i shall have to order one online which will make my 'great deal' not so great. note to self - be patient when buying something. take your time - especially when its used/found on craig's list.

in other news: we'll be putting any money we make on household items we post on craig's list, towards discretionary things ie. watercolors for the kids, new school shoes, contacts for me, dansko clogs for me, some new make up, and a new toilet bowl plunger (one that ransom will not get into!!:) yep we need to sell a bunch of stuff and i am going to try and see how far the new 'play' money will stretch.

in other news: our dear friend michael who lives around the corner is joining kyrie for school tomorrow and we are all very excited!

i am sure that my posts will be more frequent now that we are home. i will try and post some pics from our trip. ttfn.

a little bit more summer

the kids and i are down in annapolis with graham's folks for the week. graham will join us next weekend for his 5th year reunion from the academy! its so lovely here on the west river. its still summer. a bit muggy on some days. cicadas. mosquitos! sunshine. playing in the rubber pool. sunscreen. we are enjoying it so much b/c its nearly full fall up in newport. we love it but miss the lingering summer down in the mid-atlantic!

today we planted bushes together around the house. there will be some wonderful black eyed susans and gardenias next year. we went into a little waterfront town for some food. mom-mom and pop-pop were down for a visit yesterday and left today. they wanted to visit us b/c they won't be able to make ransom's 1st birthday. oh my goodness i need to make sure i have a reliable list of who is coming! its going to be a sun weekend. we'll be making football tailgater food. perfect for the autumn weather we have been having.

tonight rebecca and i (mother in law) are going to joanne's fabric (ooh i need to print up the coupon!) to check out some fabric and patterns. i want to make some skirts for the girls this week.

signing out to you'll. i will try and add some pics soon of our trip down south.

the blessings

oh the blessings of having k in preschool for a few hours each morning: i was bathing all three nakie babies tonight (graham was up in cambridge for a meeting) and i realized that i was NOT exhausted. ok so i did have a little nap this afternoon but i have done that before and been almost not able to move while bathing, drying, diapering and dressing the kids. yep pretty much just peel me off of the bathroom floor after a loooonng day.

but today was different. it really was a break. thank you jesus.

Preschool Day 1

Today I took Kyrie to her first day ever of preschool. She is attending a little Christian non-denominational preschool that we found near us. Its better then I ever imagined for her. The Lord really handpicked it for us. She already has a friend from church that is in her class. I felt like it was Christmas morning. I think what made me most excited was knowing that she would love it so much! Her teacher Miss Carrie said she fit right in. She said she just acted like she had been going to school all along.

Rhys had a hard time saying goodbye to Kyrie. I think she'll be my challenge now. The transition might be a bit tough but this will be good for me to have more time with her and with Ransom. I am going to make up a weekly schedule since we have so many activities going on now! I guess this is the beginning of all of "that" - carpool line, homework, school supplies etc. Its wonderful and I am blessed to be able to have found a school so tailored for Kyrie.