Small Change

Traffic Jam

2012-02-02T19:02:00.000+02:00

Graham had a particularly vicious throat and ear infection, and the result was lots of extra cuddle time for the two of us. He had a week of hardly ever wanting to be put down, and we had a day or two when we hardly moved off the couch. This moment on the couch was when he was finally regaining a little bit of his energy and smiles back!

Being sick did not seem to affect his cuteness.

A Sweet Visit from Our Sweet Neighbor

2011-09-24T21:19:00.000+03:00

When I think about the favorite things in our life right now, our really amazing neighbors always come right to mind. Having Kerry here was a great excuse to spend some extra time with them, and we were treated to several surprise evening visits from all of them. The kids, of course, loved every minute of the extra attention.

Great Times with Aunt Kerry

2011-09-24T21:11:00.000+03:00

Once again, I have neglected this blog for a very long time. A really great visit from Aunt Kerry seems like a very fine reason to finally post something new!

The visit went way too quickly, of course, but we are so thankful for all the great time we had together. Mostly we just went about life as usual, just with the really fun addition of Kerry to the routine, but we did occasionally get brave and ambitious enough to take on a few extra adventures. The best of them was definitely a night at the Dead Sea! We were extra blessed on that trip to have our really fun neighbors join us there too.

I was generally quite forgetful about bringing a camera along, but we did snap a few fun last minute pictures her last night with us.

Growing Up...Ever So Quickly.

2011-07-04T21:59:00.003+03:00

I feel like we have hit some significant milestones in our household in the last few weeks.

Significantly, Will is now a willing, independent dresser. He is also starting to show similar initiative in taking care of ALL of his own needs in the bathroom. One less bottom to wipe!

Motivated by a big-kid Batman watch that Heath bought for him months ago, but which I have refused to let him wear until he can actually read it, Will mastered the better part of time-telling today. At first he didn't even want to try to learn, and was grumped that he was NEVER going to be able to wear that watch. I finally coaxed him into giving it a shot, and he quickly figured out the concept of the hour hand. He can now tell the correct hour, and whether it is close to that exact hour or the next one or whether it is about halfway in-between. We didn't make much ground on the minute hand, but really, Will showed quite enough understanding of the concept of time without it that he has officially earned the right to wear his watch.

Will has also recently made huge strides in overcoming some of his playground fears, especially in regards to slides. He now will go down just about all of them on his own, including a very fast and fairly large one at the pool we have been swimming at. Go Will!

Graham is hitting his own developmental milestones too. Not an any record breaking pace, but that hardly seems important. He is just now figuring out how to really run, with getting his second foot off the ground before his first one touches back down. He is pretty psyched. He has also picked up two signs on his own ("more" and "drink") from a baby sign language video we randomly picked up at a garage sale, and which he found on his own in our DVD collection. He has figured out how to put it in and turn it on all by himself, which he gleefully delights in doing. Especially when he and Will KNOW it is not a sanctioned time for a video! He has also started to appropriately and recognizably use the word "hot." It is really cute.

A fun thing about Graham is that he LOVES shoes! (Just like his cousin Quinn, I think!) Boy shoes really aren't all that interesting, though, and so he delights mostly in selecting and re-selecting and re-selecting again which shoes I should wear. He generally chooses the fanciest ones, of course!

A final fun development in our home this week is that we moved Graham from our bedroom into Will's. He doesn't sleep through the night quite as perfectly as we hoped he would before moving him, but we felt like we still might as well give it a try while it is summer time (i.e. no school)and therefore does not matter quite so much if Will's sleep is slightly more disturbed. We are now on Night 4, and we are so pleased! Both boys are actually in fact sleeping much better! And we have the pure luxury of a bedroom to ourselves, for the first time in 17 months. We're hoping that this good sleep lasts.

What Will Can Dig Out of His Memory

2011-07-04T21:42:00.000+03:00

From Will today at the frozen yogurt shop, regarding the conical, red blown-glass light fixtures: "Mom, they have lights like these in a place called Neplace [he meant Nepal]. They don't have very many lights there, but they do have some that are shaped like turnips, just like these."

It is amazing, Will was just 2.5 when we visited Nepal, and we never really look at the pictures from that trip. His memory is really accurate, though, and one of my own very prominent memories from the trip is our 3 day stay in the Himalayas. Our meals were served in a very dimly-lit (depressing, actually) little lodge. I hated that dark little room, and to be honest, I was really glad when that little trip ended! (Although everything that was hard about that trip was still worth it for the time we had with our friends there.)

I guess Will and I remember the same kind of things!

And as a side note, I was quite impressed that Will knew what turnips were. We have never cooked them in our home, and we never talk about them much either. Those lights were definitely turnip-like, however! The right shape, the right color.

2011-06-20T12:53:00.000+03:00

I forgot to mention an important detail in the birthday party post. It actually isn't even Will's real birthday yet, not for another 4 weeks. So many people travel over the summer, however, and so we thought the best chance for a good turnout would be to have the party right after the school year finished. The REAL birthday is July 14th! This was just the "fake" one, in Will's own words.

Am I Allowed to Brag?

2011-06-19T22:56:00.001+03:00

I am definitely feeling proud. With a lot of help from a lot of great friends, we pulled off a great 5th birthday party for Will yesterday. We did it Jordanian style: LOTS of kids, LOTS of moms, LOTS of food, and LOTS of fun!! A bouncy castle definitely contributed to the good times, and I am proud of putting together a wonderful American dessert spread that everyone couldn't stop raving about. I can't take any credit for the official cake, however, or any of the delicious Arabic appetizers. I knew my limits, and catered the rest!

Will was really, really happy. My goal in all of this was for him to know that he is special and loved, and worth the fuss of a special party in the style that he sees all of his friends enjoy too. I think we succeeded.

I am pretty sure we succeeded in nudging our way one tiny step more into being accepted by our Jordanian peers. Acceptance is a pretty big deal when 'foreigner' essentially defines your status on a very regular basis.

Oh, and Graham thoroughly enjoyed the party too. He sat right among the big kids, helping himself to pizza, juice, cookies, more cookies, oh, and a cupcake that just magically appeared next to him too. He was pleased!!!

My post party recovery involved two, TWO! naps today. I must say, piecing together a party without a Target or dollar store or Party Express takes considerable work!!

2011-04-25T12:24:00.000+03:00

Since the birthday post could have easily been titled 'One of a Million Reasons Why We Have the Best Neighbors in the World,' I figured I might just as well dig these pictures out of ancient archives as well.

In addition to being in the jumpy castle business (and bungee jumping business for that matter), our neighbor Dafi owns a building company. He took Will and Marcus 'on site' for a day!

Note, these are from April 2010!

While I was home with this:

I mean, this!

The big kids were out doing this!!

Honestly, Dafi and his family are amazing. They have adopted our kids (and us) right into their family, and we are so blessed by their generous love!

Since Birthday #5 is Just Around the Corner...

2011-04-25T12:10:00.000+03:00

... I thought that I had FINALLY better memorialize birthday #4! Especially since it was as cool as it was.

Our super, super awesome neighbor provided the jumpy castle! He just happens to be in the jumpy castle business. :)

The hero of the day! (Provider of the jumpy castle, and of thousands of resulting smiles and giggles.)

We pulled off the party with just 5 hours of planning. We had planned to wait until the weekend to celebrate, but Will couldn't possibly imagine why we would want to wait. He was also so excited about the idea of the jumpy castle, that he wanted to keep it entirely to himself and not invite anyone except our adult upstairs neighbors. He finally conceded to inviting his very best friend, and I think it retrospect it was more fun jumping with 2 than 1. We kept the jumpy castle around for another 5 days, so he had lots of private jumping as well!

This year Will is wanting quite the opposite... he is wanting a Jordanian-style party with his entire class of 25 in attendance! I am a little freaked at the idea, but I am mulling it over. I think we will have to move quickly to get it in before the school year lets out and everyone is away traveling. I will post the results, assuming we pull it off!

Just about the coolest thing there is...

2011-04-25T11:54:00.000+03:00

Perhaps the very best thing for a 4+ year old boy to do in this city is to ride the little motorized motorcycle around a very realistic traffic ring. Best of all, at only half a dinar (just over half a dollar) for a 10 minute or so ride, it is very affordable to come back to again and again! Super cool, verified by the fact that there are 15-year-olds riding the ring too!

Days out with Nana

2011-04-25T11:50:00.000+03:00

This post is long overdue, but still worth posting! We enjoyed a 5 week visit from Nana, and we made the most of her extra hands by taking lots of excursions out with the kids. Visits to the children's museum, park, amusement center, and ice cream store were much more fun and a little less stressful with her help! These pictures are from a chilly (and therefore not very crowded!) day at the public park with Nana and our good friends. It was actually my first time at this park, and it far surpassed my expectations. We have been back several times since, and while the crowds (and with them, litter) have started to accumulate, it is still well worth visiting for a little change of pace!

Glorious Spring!

2011-04-25T11:17:00.001+03:00

Jordan is absolutely beautiful in spring. The desert browns temporarily transform into refreshing fields of green, and beautiful wildflowers dot the countryside. We are sadly reaching the tail end of spring, but we have milked the season for everything it has been worth, knowing that hot, dry dusty days are ahead. We have packed literally every weekend for the past three months with hiking, picnicking, and swimming excursions.

These pictures are from one of the first such weekends, way back in mid February. It was a picnic at our neighbor's farm just an hour outside of the city. The wildflowers were just starting to bloom, and we (well, Graham in particular) gorged ourselves on yummy Arabic treats and marveled at the scenery. Will's friend Marcus spent the afternoon climbing olive trees, and Will, sadly, spent the day sleeping in the backseat of the car. I guess he needed the rest!

(I'm not sure which of the babies was less impressed with the poppy!)

Best Friends.

2011-04-25T10:52:00.002+03:00

There is no end...

2011-04-25T10:46:00.001+03:00

... to pictures in the high chair. Sorry!

Graham's arm band is complements of Will, who continues to dote on his little baby brother daily. 15 months later, Will is still absolutely in love with the idea of babies. It is sweet.

Graham, I realize, is not looking particularly sweet in the picture, but I love it still. He'd had enough of his oatmeal, and enough of the high chair. Let me out, Mom!!!

Field Day!

2011-04-25T09:49:00.000+03:00

Field day was always by far my own favorite day of school, and so I was really excited when Will brought home a note saying that he too was going to have one of these special days. Many parents came along to watch, and it was a really great day! Will's team even won the trophy for earning the most points, although he was a little dismayed to learn that he couldn't bring the trophy home.

Bilingual Babies

2011-03-10T22:06:00.000+02:00

Graham has been babbling 'Mama' and 'Dada' for months now, and then a few weeks ago he uttered his first perfectly-timed, perfectly-pronounced, 'uh oh!.' 'Uh oh!' was Will's first real word as well. In the last week, Graham has really taken an interest in lights, and at first I kept saying 'light! light!' I then realized the Arabic 'dow! dow!' would be a lot easier, and Graham now goes through life pointing at and announcing all the 'dow!' around him. Super cute. He has also now correctly identified wa-wa (water) a couple of times, both in our drinking glasses as well as in the mopping bucket. And finally, yesterday, as he was 'helping' me put on my shoes, he pointed and said, 'oo! oo!' (as in 'shoe,' minus the 'sh').

And Will, on his part, is coming quite along with his own Arabic! He can read nearly the entire Arabic alphabet, and every few days he whips out a new Arabic word or phrase that we had no idea he knew.

Oh, the sponges they are!!

The following pictures have no correlation with this post, but what is a post without a few fun pics? Heath broke his own personal rule of taking no more pictures of Graham eating. Graham was just too cute to resist. The white stuff around Graham's mouth is the cream that we cover his Cheerios with. Nana first concocted this by accident, and then when we realized how much Graham liked it, it became our new let's-fatten-up-Graham strategy. Greasy but effective.

One Cute Spiderman

2011-02-10T21:36:00.000+02:00

This face painting was compliments of Will's classmate's birthday party last weekend. Like most of his classmate's birthday parties, it was quite an event! I think the cake was bigger than our wedding cake.

Will was reluctant to get his face painted, since it always tickles his nose, but finally we agreed to try something little on his cheek. We communicated this to the face painting clown, but the clown just couldn't help himself and went on to paint a big blue spider right down his nose, with red little spider legs crawling nearly up into Will's eyes. He immediately started to cry, and we then proceeded to the bathroom to remove the offending spider from his nose. Will was a great sport through the tickle-y process to remove the paint, and he was pleased with the remaining result.

My Ruddy Blond Boy

2011-02-07T21:41:00.001+02:00

The Many Faces of Graham

2011-02-07T21:39:00.000+02:00

Graham is in a stage of loving to push buttons. Cameras are loaded with them, and he knows it. It has become almost as hard to take his picture now as it is to take Will's. But last week, I had an ingenious idea to stick him in a little wagon and take as many pictures as possible while he tried to work himself out. I had a good minute or two before he finally escaped and raced towards the camera! I think the resulting pictures are pretty funny.

I love this last one. I love the two little teeth, and the little tuft of hair. And the look of complete exasperation. I love you buddy!

I am Proud

2011-02-03T21:49:00.000+02:00

Will is turning into one outstanding little 4.5 year old. I believe he has made huge strides in the last few months. I chalk half of it up to developmental readiness, and the other half of it up to school, prayer, better home routines, and a recent but HIGHLY effective strict reduction in TV time. Even his teachers are asking, "What have you guys done to him? This is one new kid!" I couldn't be more proud of or thankful for this growth. Wow. Feels like one sweet miracle.

Happy Birthday Graham!

2011-01-30T21:46:00.000+02:00

Our littlest guy had his first birthday two weeks ago, and now he has finally had a proper party to celebrate as well!

We had our neighbors and a few friends in attendance, as well as Nana all the way from Chicago!

This was my first attempt at cake decoration. I was pretty pleased with the result!

Graham was all serious when it came time to light the candle!

Some old customs are worth holding onto, and some new customs are worth giving a try. Sparkler candles, ever so popular here in Jordan, seemed to me to be one worth trying. It was fun! Graham continued on in his ever-so-serious mood.

It took awhile for Graham to get around to tasting the cake. And when he did, he ate just a few bites and then proceeded to throw the rest. Oh well, it was his cake!

Thank you all who came to help us celebrate! And Happy Birthday, Graham!!!

Just a Picture, and Not a Current One at That!

2011-01-15T20:27:00.000+02:00

This blog definitely needs some updating! This one little outdated picture is all I'll post for now, but I hope to be adding more soon!

Figuratively Speaking

2010-11-11T19:36:00.002+02:00

The bathroom seems to bring out the literary genius in Will. The similes just start flowing. For example:

"Mom, I'm really mad at you! You were supposed to give me soap as little as Piglet's eye. But you gave it to me as big as a bear!" (I have been encouraging Will to express his anger with words. I didn't know he could do it so descriptively!)

And, to be a little more graphic (sorry), this:

"Mom, I want you to wipe me as gentle as a moose! Not as hard as a fox."

Where does he come up with this stuff?!? He's amazing.

An Impromptu Halloween

2010-10-31T21:30:00.001+02:00

My good friends and I decided at the last minute today that we ought to get our little ones together to give them a chance to dress up in their costumes and take part in something slightly reminiscent of our own childhood trick-or-treating. And that is how it became that a certain Mr. Messy, a certain Mr. Incredible, and a certain pretty little princess found themselves trekking through our neighborhood this afternoon on a treasure hunt. It turned out to be quite the neighbor-meeting event! We attracted quite a lot of attention, and while we had already planted our own treats for the kids to find, several neighbors insisted on providing their own treats as well. Perhaps the highlight was discovering that one of Will's sweet little classmates lives just around the corner!

We actually ran into each other in passing at the Children's Museum Halloween party yesterday as well. Kerry presented Will with his Mr. Incredible costume sent from Nana just before this party, and he was ECSTATIC! I had previously had some sort of value against branded costumes for kids, but Will insisted that he wanted to be a superhero, and was he ever psyched to be one for 'real!' He told me on the way to the museum that the toys (ie exhibits) were only for kids if they were bored, but he wasn't going to be bored because he was going to be busy helping people. I am pretty sure he really and truly believed he had superhero powers. And indeed, I believe he does. Just of his own special sort. Anyway, a few shots of the babies in their Halloween stripes (Baby Sami had already decided he was done with his pirate patch):

As a final side note on the Mr. Messy costume, it was Will and I made for his character parade for book week at Will's school. It has since made an appearance at the airport while waiting for Aunt Kerry (yes, she's here!), and now again today in our treasure hunt. No telling where he's going to pop up next! I am not particularly crafty or visionary for that matter, and so I admit to being proud of our little home-grown costume effort!

O brother!

2010-10-21T20:45:00.000+03:00

There has been a fair amount of this going on!

I think that Will is now finally seeing Graham as competition not only for our time and attention, but now also for his toys as well! I wish I could say that Will is always the perfectly sweet older brother, but, well, sometimes he just decides to squish his little brother instead. Still, they are great playmates and friends, and I don't think the little one often minds the rough attention. I am pretty sure he thinks it is all part of a game!

Freshness.

2010-10-21T20:36:00.000+03:00

Heath and I are aspiring gardeners without much time on our hands. Still, we have managed to grow a thriving pot of basil this year, and it has kept us in good supply of homemade pesto. This has been key for making our favorite chicken pesto pine nut dish, that is reminiscent of our Maggiano's wedding fare.

Our Toothless Wonder

2010-10-21T12:16:00.000+03:00

9 months and no teeth yet to speak of. But our littlest little man is picking up a few tricks, making his life infinitely more exciting and my life just a tad bit easier. Between sitting and commando crawling, he can now help himself to whatever he pleases and can therefore self-entertain long enough for me to finally get a few things done with baby-free hands! That said, he still has an insatiable desire to march around the house, and of course he still needs a bit of assistance with that. I do plenty enough laps with him around our apartment to keep me more or less in shape despite my lack of real exercise. He continues to be the sweetest, funniest little addition to our family!

Waffle Time

2010-09-22T20:24:00.000+03:00

Graham spends a lot of time in this high chair. Mostly in an effort to plump him up a bit.

Fisting It

2010-09-22T20:20:00.000+03:00

Graham will not have much to do with anything fed to him, especially if it is pureed and fed by spoon. I have been feeling challenged to provide non-hazardous, healthy, age-appropriate, and high calorie finger foods for him to eat. And just to keep me on my toes, just when I think I have finally found a real winner, he suddenly decides he no longer likes whatever it is. Apparently he gets bored easily!

At least for now, Graham is enjoying rice mixed with yogurt. I think he loves the mess it creates at least as much as he loves the taste.

Graham does this thing where he scrunches up his nose. It looks kind of funny, but ends up being ridiculously cute. Especially when he then begins to snort. Heath very nearly started calling him Snort-wogs for a time. Fortunately (I guess!) Will's new choice of name, Graham-eezers, is sticking better.

It Seemed Like a Good Idea.

2010-09-14T20:29:00.000+03:00

This past weekend we traveled north again with friends to one our of favorite destinations, the King Talal Dam. It is a water reservoir for the country, and while swimming is technically now forbidden, it is still a fun place for Will and Heath to do some pseudo-fishing. On this particular trip, however, we forgot to take into account that it is now the very end of the dry season, and of course the water would have significantly diminished. There was hardly enough to even pretend to fish, and Will was afraid there might be scary fish in the remaining murky waters akin to those he saw on a documentary about the Amazon. We quickly abandoned the idea of an afternoon by the 'lake,' and instead headed right over to some ancient ruins for an early dinner with an amazing view.

Will mostly steered clear of the camera, but at least we got a fun picture of Graham!

Brothers. Silly Ones.

2010-09-13T21:47:00.000+03:00

These guys love to be silly together. And how much sillier does it get than wearing underwear hats? (They were clean. I promise!)

And another beautiful boy.

2010-09-13T20:19:00.000+03:00

One beautiful boy. 7 months.

2010-09-13T20:13:00.000+03:00

2010-06-30T05:16:00.001+03:00

I can't get enough of this one! Sweet, sweet little man. Stars compliments of Will, of course.

2010-06-13T05:11:00.001+03:00

Sorry for the blogging pause! We are in the middle of a fun but exhausting trip to the US. I will try to post more soon!

2010-05-11T21:56:00.001+03:00

Will likes to try out different phrases he hears, and since he is around a lot of adults, he often comes across sounding like a little adult (except, of course, for some crazy funny twist because he hasn't quite mastered its use.)

The latest is 'huh?' He adds it to the end of everything he says, in this funny sweet-innocent little way, and he does it in a nasal-y Chicago accent. I wonder who he got this from? Um, me! I realized. I suddenly heard it come from my own mouth today, and I was horrified! Both because I realize how ridiculous it sounds when repeated 100 times over in a day, and because I have worked hard to tone down my accent of my childhood after being poked-fun-of on various occasions since moving away. But alas, it is still there. :)

Really, though, my point in writing this post is just how unbelievably ridiculously cute Will is when he talks. I need to do a better job of getting him on 'tape'!

Slightly Tortuous

2010-05-11T21:44:00.001+03:00

Birthday parties here are a big deal. They all seem to follow a similar format, which basically includes inviting one's entire class of friends, as well as other siblings and possibly cousins (ie 20 or more screaming and running little kids!). Mothers and sometimes maids also attend, as does the father of the birthday child. Parties are always hosted at some public venue, either a fast food restaurant or, for the most affluent, a specialized kid play place. The party starts with play time (which at the fast food restaurants means climbing the very-vertical play structure, which of course terrifies Will), and is then followed by consumption of fast food meals by the kids. Then comes the cake, which is the best part on account of the impressive sparkler candles, and the singing of 'Happy Birthday' in both English and Arabic. Additional food is then also sometimes served for the adults.

My confession is that I feel somewhat lucky to have escaped our first year of school with Will having attended just two birthday parties, the second one being this evening. Will LOVES getting the invitation, and gets super-psyched. But the minute we walk in the door, he clings to my leg and cries, and acts as if his classmates are suddenly scary strangers. He wants me to stay with him, but generally only the maids play with the kids while the moms sit in a different room. A very strange dynamic develops. A few kids usually try to get Will to play, but they always talk to him in Arabic, and he still doesn't have a clue what they are saying. Tonight, one such kid was especially persistent, to the extreme. He chased Will the whole evening, grabbing him and kissing him. But Will wanted none of it, and soon I was annoyed also, especially when I saw the yellow goop oozing out of his eyes and heard his contagious cough! The other kids were legitimately nice and normal, but Will somehow funks out at these events. (I don't really blame him! I do the same at the adult equivalents!) And I guess it doesn't help that his very best from school hasn't attended either party.

I conclude that we have both had a pretty miserable time, but as soon as we are in the car, Will acts as if we just had a grand time. Huh?!? But I play along, agreeing that we did. And hope that somehow when the next school year rolls around, Will will be at a slightly different developmental stage that we can better survive these crazy events.

And as one somewhat unrelated but funny side-note to this post, the party this evening was for his friend Salma. Will has been talking about her for months, but always by the name of Simba. I have been slightly confused as to why someone here would give their child this name, but I figured there are certainly stranger things than that. But when the invitation came home, with her proper name written, I put it all together, although she will always go by Simba in our household. :)

Will on Caffeine

2010-05-09T20:16:00.001+03:00

In celebration of the American Mother's Day, Heath took me and the boys out for dinner to my choice of restaurant. The meal was great, and I appreciated being out of the house and, in fact, out-of-doors on their patio seating. Will's children's meal came with free ice cream, and Will managed to convince the waiter to give him both 'chocolate' and vanilla. He managed to score a free nutella-covered pound-cake-like cookie as well. Will generously gave me a taste of the ice cream, and the 'chocolate' tasted a bit funky, perhaps even like coffee. Then again, I figured, all the ice cream in this country tastes a little off, except for what comes out of my home ice cream maker! And so I didn't question it much, until a few minutes later when Will was out of his seat, zooming through the restaurant. (As it turns out, our top-floor neighbor was inside the restaurant doing a double-take, asking himself why was he seeing Will there?!?) Heath eventually went inside to pay the bill since our waiter was pretty negligent, and while he was at the front counter, he questioned the staff whether they had in fact served our child coffee ice cream. They nodded and gave a big smile. Thanks.

Will continued zooming like a crazy kid until Heath finally managed to zoom him into his bed a few minutes ago. Phew! No more coffee for this guy for awhile. And good thing he still hates all fizzy drinks, cola included.

Grunting to Sleep.

2010-05-05T21:24:00.001+03:00

I knew we had reached the unsustainable when Will asked me the other evening, "Mom, can you just smile at me?" He was indeed being incredibly annoying and disobedient, making messes without cleaning anything up and just generally being crazy, but he was right, I was off-the-charts grumped. And my guess is that half of what he was doing was just to get my attention.

Graham's sleep had gone from decent at least in the night-time to pretty bad all of the time, starting about two weeks ago. He was waking frequently at night, and instead of returning to sleep on his own after nursing, he was taking an hour or more to be put back to sleep. And as for naps, he was also incredibly hard to get to sleep, and would only stay asleep for a very short time. I was spending most of every day just trying to get him to sleep, and he would spend the day being super cranky and resisting sleep. Will was seeing little of either of us.

The situation really could not be sustained... Graham and I were both desperate for better sleep (and I'll add Heath in this category too), and Will was desperate for a less-grumpy and more-available me.

We decided to embark this week on sleep-training of sorts, and it felt like a fairly easy decision to reach. With Will, I was so incredibly reluctant to let him shed a single tear, and it took 3 months of waking literally every 45 minutes through the night with him before I was finally willing to let him learn to put himself to sleep. But after almost 4 years of parenting, I have learned that tears are an inevitable part of childhood, and they aren't always a bad thing.

Happily, with Graham, there aren't even so much tears as grunts and occasional whimpers. Full-out cries are really rare. He has made so much progress this week on learning to get himself to sleep, and it has come nearly entirely without any real crying. Just from a willingness from me to leave him awake and alone for a few minutes so that he can have the chance to fall asleep unassisted. And today, in fact, he laughed himself to sleep. Pretty amazing.

Graham has by no means arrived at perfect sleep, and still enjoys a few snacks through the night, but that feels appropriate for his age. At least he is finally getting better sleep, and we are spending much less time accomplishing that both during the day and at night.

And with that, I am off to enjoy a bit of sleep myself!

The Things on Graham's Mind (My Hypothesis)

2010-05-05T21:06:00.001+03:00

1) Milk...yum!

2) How am I going to get this poop out?!?

2) My mom and dad are awesome.

3) What spirited act of love is my big brother going to inflict on me next?

The Things on Will's Mind

2010-05-05T21:04:00.001+03:00

These are a few of the topics that Will repeatedly brings up, and asks all sorts of questions about:

1) Renting vs. owning a home
2)Tsunamis and floods
3) Guns and police officers, bad guys and prison
4) Jesus and The Bad Guy

I can't even imagine the conclusions he draws about these things in his head! And wow, such serious things for such a young little fellow!

A Picture Perfect Sort of Day

2010-05-04T20:11:00.001+03:00

I apparently took 64 pictures today. I'll share a few of the 'keepers.'

The picture-taking started when Will was again holding Graham while I fixed Will's standard snack that he loves to eat while watching his one post-school video. Will was generally unwilling to turn his gaze from the TV, except once to be extra goofy about it, and so the pictures are only so-so. But still they are sweet, I think. And I love the first one, even though the blanket was mostly in the way of Graham's face. It almost looks as if he was playing a game of peek-a-boo.

Tummy time provided photo-op #2. The best angle for his face proved to be sub-par light-wise, but here's what we came up with:

especially poor lighting, but I love the old man wrinkly forehead:

nursing on the hand:

Finally, in the late afternoon, we broke out the kiddie pool for the first time. Our outdoor water comes from an environmentally rainwater collection tank our landlord devised, but the water has gone funky and reeks like sulphur. I tried rigging the hose then through our window to hook up to our shower faucet, but we didn't have a proper fitting. And so, finally, I found myself lugging bucket after bucket from kitchen sink to outdoor patio to fill the little pool. I was glad we had settled on the smallest-sized one out of four! The first picture is actually just from a little naked time for Graham while I was filling the pool.

2010-05-03T22:09:00.001+03:00

We usually have a big salad for lunch, topped with cherry tomatoes and cucumbers. Will quickly claims as many of the cucumbers as he can, in order first to stack them into a tower, and then to eat them. Today, as usual, I insisted on keeping a few for myself, and Will told me "Mom, you never can have any cucumbers! Not until Jesus comes."

I was so amused and baffled by this comment I didn't even argue.

Baby Blue.

2010-04-30T21:58:00.003+03:00

Tiger.

2010-04-30T21:25:00.002+03:00

Tough Times.

2010-04-29T21:29:00.001+03:00

So the shower wasn't such a big hit today. In the end, I think it had more to do with the fact that Graham had to pee than anything else. He let loose over Heath a minute after these pictures were taken. And he had already covered both of us with a previous round of pee and an enormous poop explosion in a diaper-less moment. Nice, and hence the shower.

But in more seriousness, this generally chill baby might actually be having a tougher time than he often lets on. We have become pretty convinced that this guy, like his brother, has some pretty bothersome acid reflux. We were trying to ride it out without meds, but after he spat up blood several times yesterday, our pediatrician recommended we start him on Zantac. Sorry buddy.

As Promised.

2010-04-25T20:40:00.001+03:00

Unexpected Treasure, of Sorts

2010-04-25T20:38:00.001+03:00

Will and I went out yesterday on a walk in search of flowers to pick. We came back with him instead:

We found him in some tall grass, crying, and he followed us home. We fed him some milk and an old hard boiled Easter egg, and he made himself at home on our patio. He was quite loud and persistent, however, begging both to come in the house and for more food. It was nearly impossible to step out of the house without him sneaking in, and on one occasion he did. Perhaps at some other time in my life I might have been more open to the idea of another pet, but for now, the three goldfish we have accumulated quite by accident feel like quite enough! And besides, jungle cats (as Will calls them) are just kind of gross. Even baby ones. Sorry Will.

Will first protested, but soon he agreed to help me return the kitten to the place we had found him, just in case by some chance his mother would return. I hope she does. And I'm hoping he doesn't find his way back, although really we are just around the corner!

After returning the kitten, we then continued on our walk, and indeed found some beautiful purple wildflowers still lingering from the winter rains. The look lovely on the table.

Brothers.

2010-04-24T20:35:00.001+03:00

I'm happy to report that Will is still thrilled with having a little brother, and he is generally quite, quite good with Graham. He loves 'holding' him. Graham seems to return the affection.

"Mom! I drew a person!"

2010-04-24T20:31:00.001+03:00

You sure did, Will! I think this is the first recognizable picture Will has drawn. I love the little person, with her potato-like head. I especially love the ears and the little feet. He said it is his friend Abby.

The circle next to the person can generally be ignored. It wasn't really meant to be part of the same picture. He just saw that I was tracing circles, and he wanted to trace one too. We were actually drawing pictures together to hang up for Graham in the car, in an effort to make the commute to pick up Will from school each day ever-so-slightly more tolerable for Graham.

A little about Graham, 3 months:

2010-04-23T20:13:00.001+03:00

He goes by various names in our home: Graham-sickle, Graham-burger, Graham-burgler, Grahams, Mr. Graham, and Will's favorite--Grahammy. They are all a little funny. Good thing we like the name Graham. No adulterations needed.

He is a serious sort of fellow, always looking as if he is deep in thought, and sometimes a bit alarmed. But when he busts out the smile, it is the sweetest thing, and all the seriousness melts away.

He is newly fascinated with his toes, and it is a good thing summer is on the way so that I can leave him barefooted more often! But the poor guy can't even get those toes close to his mouth, which I think is what he is hoping for. I chalk it up to the extra long torso (and complete inflexibility!) he inherited from me.

He has new tongue control, and can mimic fun tongue games. I think babies gain control over their faces first.

He is also working on mastering the back to front roll. He has done it twice now, but each time it startles him so much to be on his belly with his arms pinned under, he doesn't really care to try again for awhile.

He is working on the self-soothing thing. Still binky-less, he is forced to come up with his own method of calming himself. Realizing this, we decided to move from a two-arm swaddle to a one-arm swaddle to free his fists up a bit, which he does generally jam in his mouth to suck on when he gets desperate. But he is also mastering the air-suck, in which he 'nurses' without anything in particular to suck on. This is generally what he does now when I lay him on our bed to get him ready for sleep. The anticipation is so great, he just gets started on his own!

And finally, he is off and marching. Literally. Last week those little feet started stepping, and now that is all he wants to do. I remember this with Will--while all the other babies were working on crawling, Will only wanted to 'walk.' And so we 'walked' together for months and months until he finally managed on his own at 11 months. I figure Graham and I therefore have at least a good 8 months ahead of us marching together! And Graham has an opinion about where he wants to march. I don't remember Will having much opinion about wanting toys until at least 5 or 6 six months, but if Graham is anywhere near the train table, that is definitely where he wants to head. Watch out, Will! There is soon going to need to be a bit of brotherly sharing of toys.

New pictures of this awesome little man soon to come.

Multi-tasking

2010-04-15T21:07:00.001+03:00

I don't suppose you achieve all that Heath manages to achieve by tunneling into one task at a time. Heath is generally engaged is multiple things at any moment, and today was certainly no exception.

He came home sick from the office, but continued to plug away working from home. He generously agreed to watch Graham while I made the 1-hour round trip to pick up Will from school. Will and I returned to find Heath pacing the hall like such:

studying a little Arabic and being Super-Dad, all at once.

We'll be going back.

2010-04-10T21:39:00.001+03:00

To Le Gemelle, that is. Apparently voted best pizza in town, and it is indeed my favorite. We were too lazy to cook tonight, so pizza it was. And since we were a little stir-crazy as well, we opted for the restaurant experience instead of take-out as we usually do. The unexpected benefit? Free baby-sitting while we ate our meal! The waiters (all male!) fought over turns to hold Graham. They were all amazing at calming an otherwise tired and fussy baby.

Who do these cute kids belong to?

2010-04-10T15:50:00.001+03:00

That was the question of the day at our backyard BBQ yesterday with new friends. Everyone decided they wanted kids just like ours: creative and full of fun energy, but [generally] well behaved.

One conclusion was that we must beat the kids when not in public...um, not exactly.

Graham hates the sun, but generally tolerates these new shades!

These guys got plenty of loving attention.

Will calls this scrap yard adjacent to our yard his school. Not sure why, exactly. Shoes were quickly forthcoming.

Not Your Typical Easter...

2010-04-05T21:50:00.001+03:00

but a lovely one none-the-less.

Heath and Will took in a full day and a half of Rally-spectating this past weekend. This has quickly become a favorite event for Will.

We then camped in the northern region of the country, a second-time for Will and Heath, and a first for me and Graham. It was stunningly beautiful, but a very hot weekend, and challenging with a pasty white babe when there was not so much as a single tree much of the time for shade. The trip culminated, however, with an Easter lunch picnic under a perfect tree that we finally scouted, overlooking the Sea of Galilee. Pretty cool to be celebrating in the land where Jesus walked. Amazing, really.

As amazing as it was, we returned thoroughly exhausted (and in Heath's case, sunburned). I'm not quite sure I'm up for scorching heat camping again any time soon, particularly with an infant, but perhaps by late fall I might have forgotten how hard this trip was and might be willing to do it all again. All for a breath of fresh, fresh air.

Sitting Tall

2010-04-05T21:38:00.001+03:00

Graham has gained enough neck control to manage sitting in the bumbo chair a few minutes at a time. He loves it.

2010-04-04T21:04:00.001+03:00

Will: Dad, you are always nice to Mom.
Heath: Have I ever been mean to her?
Will: Maybe, but I don't think so.

Well done, Heath. You set an amazing example for our little guys. They are watching!!! And thank you for being the gentle, generous, loving husband that you are. I love you.

Because I can't resist...

2010-03-30T18:54:00.001+03:00

...here are a few more photos from the morning.

(Graham's deer in the headlights look.):

Fish Love.

2010-03-30T14:23:00.001+03:00

Kerry left behind two sheets of sparkly fish and butterfly stickers for Will, and he has spent the last few days graciously sharing them with us and the neighbors upstairs. This morning, it was Graham's turn to be lovingly decorated.

It isn't Graham's first time, actually. Last week, Will covered Graham's hands with a red Madagascar stamp. I'm sure some people were horrified when they saw it--but I think it was harmless and cute, and a few old ladies also agreed. And I'm thankful that there is so much brotherly love!

In the genes.

2010-03-27T17:00:00.001+03:00

Will took this picture.

And this one too.

Not bad, huh? Heath has been coaching him. Much improved from his earlier figers-over-the-lens attempts, like this one which Heath and I still laugh about in particular. Will simply walked up to this stranger, pointed the camera in his face, and clicked. We were shocked. The man laughed. And then we had to coach Will in picture-taking etiquette. He seems to be getting it.

I highly recommend our shock-proof, dust-proof, water-proof, and therefore worry-proof camera. Perfect for our budding, clumsy, and sometimes still careless photographer. An added benefit? Random pictures like this:

Meltingly Sweet

2010-03-27T16:49:00.001+03:00

Graham is just one sweet guy. I'm not sure how to not be sappy about this, but I am crazy about him!

2010-03-27T16:23:00.001+03:00

"Mom! You can't take me off to bed! I'm all locked in!"

Good try, Will.

Purple Man

2010-03-27T16:22:00.001+03:00

Gentian Violet is nasty stuff, but a thrush infection is even nastier! I'm afraid I passed one onto Graham his second week of life after taking antibiotics for bacterial infection, and we have been fighting it ever since. We've tried nearly everything except for the very strongest drugs, including doing insidious amounts of laundry, forgoing a binkie, eliminating sugar and white starches and a whole bunch of other foods from my diet, and taking crazy amounts of probiotics, but it just isn't going away. Annoying! Yuck!

The Gentian Violet was our most recent desperate attempt to get rid of this infection, and despite having one very blue boy for a week, we seem to have been defeated again. The white pearly lips are now again replacing the blue, and so we go on with nasty oral gels and such. I've heard some babies will just eventually out-grow it. I hope we will be so lucky, and soon!

Another Tough Good-Bye

2010-03-27T16:12:00.001+03:00

Kerry is Aunt-Extraordinaire, and we said a sad good-bye to her this morning after having her here with us the last few weeks. The boys both loved having her around, and of course so did I! I will miss my big sis... this living overseas thing can be tough! Being apart from family is the hardest. Still, we are thankful for the time we do find to be together, and we realize we are blessed with quite a bit given that we do live so far apart. People here are beginning to joke that my mom and sister are becoming nearly Jordanian through their frequent visits!

New Friends.

2010-03-06T21:41:00.001+02:00

Graham and Sam. Actually, Sami, but I was going for the rhyme!

Little brothers of Will and Marcus, and soon to be the next round of best friends.

Here the two littlest ones were wiggling around together at the Red Sea last weekend. We went as a last hoorah before my mom left, partly as a thank you for all of her help, and partly to overcome our cabin fever of being homebound after the birth. Becky and her two boys joined us for the fun. I hope to post more fun pictures from the weekend, but for now, these most recent ones of Graham and his friend will suffice!

Sami is one sweet little guy! I'm not sure I have ever seen a happier baby!

Wow.

2010-03-06T21:31:00.001+02:00

Heath took Will and Marcus camping for the weekend, having been invited previously by the curator of a museum in a city in the north to stay on his land. They went to the very green, scenic northern corner of the country, which is particularly spectacular now after the winter rains. The museum curator ended up being an amazing tour guide as well, and Heath and the boys were treated to scenic drives, a swim in the hot springs pools, and a cultural immersion being invited into his actual home.

The boys loved it.

And seeing all the pictures, I am jealous! I'm guessing we'll be back there soon.

Flowers for the mamas.

This is a hot pool filled by the hot springs. Will loved it once he got over the fact he had to swim in his underwear.

Brotherly Love

2010-03-02T19:56:00.001+02:00

Will has always shown a tenderness and affection towards babies, and his love towards his new brother has persevered even through all the hard changes he has had to face. As much as I am sure he sometimes wishes he still had my full time and attention, he never blames the lack of it on little Graham. He dotes on his new brother every bit as much as he did on day one.

I think Will smothers Graham with kisses 100 times a day! Barely a moment or two passes before Will plants another one on Graham's irresistibly luscious cheeks.

And I have started to hear myself echoed in Will's dealings with Graham. Today I heard in the back seat, "Mom, I picking the crusties off his face." And then, to Graham, "All done, Graham, all done." (Graham did in fact have an assortment of crusted things on his face...dried tears, milk, and boogers. )

Will is Big Brother #1. He's awesome.

We'll Miss You!

2010-03-01T18:13:00.001+02:00

We are pretty blessed to have such loving and supportive family. We sadly waved good-bye to Nana today after having her here with us for the last 5(!) weeks. She has been amazingly patient, nursing me back to full health and getting me on my feet to being a new mom to two. She has been super grandma to Will and Graham, trucking all over the city with the older one, and lovingly looking after the new one. I have really come to hate good-byes, and this one is certainly no exception. We are going to miss you! Thank you!!

Sweet One

2010-02-24T17:32:00.001+02:00

This guy has been all coos and smiles this week. I love it!

Winter Paid Us a Visit

2010-02-06T07:17:00.001+02:00

We had quite the streak of unseasonably warm weather from Christmas through Graham's birth, with daytime temperatures almost always in the 60s or even 70s. I miss the snowy cold winters of the US, but in the absence of that, I wasn't much minding the ideal balmy weather! It was pretty great.

The past few days, however, have been exceptionally cold, and with it has come a good mix of icy rain and snow. For most of the city it has just been the rain, but we live in a part of town with temperatures averaging about 5 degrees cooler than the rest of the city, and we mostly got snow! It was perfectly wet for snowman building, much to Will's and Marcus's great delight!!!

I love the glee on Heath's face:

It was a perfectly proper snowman of good size and a carrot and raisin face. Will made sure of that.

(Nana's here!)

7 AM

2010-01-21T13:40:00.001+02:00

This is my best attempt at our birth story. It is only minimally censored, so please do not read if you'd rather not know details!

As many know, the last nine months have been a pretty huge journey for me in preparing for this birth. As much as I am so glad that Will came into this world safely and well, I longed for a better way this time around than a repeat cesarean section, unless of course it was clearly necessary for our safety. A large part of the process was taking care of my own body, eating well and exercising, and better regulating my blood sugar. Much to my own frequent annoyance, my OB very strictly monitored my own and the baby's growth throughout the pregnancy, but in the end her efforts paid off and Baby Graham came out a more moderate size than Will, despite having had several extra weeks to grow.

The journey also entailed quite a difficult search for resources to support a more natural delivery. The options are not nearly so broad here in Jordan as in the US, and they certainly did not include readily available midwives or birth assistants. While I highly respected my OB and her medical talent, I did not feel comfortable with her strong bent towards a repeat cesarean for me.

In the end, we were totally blown away by the provision we found for our birth. Through a friend of a friend of a friend, we found an amazing midwife, Grace, who was willing to come here from the US to attend a home delivery. (We were never set on a home birth, although always open to it. Our goal was simply to be supported by someone who shared our same starting place of childbirth as natural event which only in some cases needs to be intervened upon.)

Two good friends also helped us through the birth, and they were complete superstars. More on that to follow...

Anyway, my due date came and went this past week, and we were feeling mounting pressure from my OB (whose support we were relying upon in the event of an emergency) and a local midwife who would also be supporting us in this birth (we discovered in the very end they do exist! and the presence of one was in fact legally required). The growing size of the baby was definitely a concern--already ultrasound was estimating .5 lb over my OB's initial 'alloted' weight for vaginal delivery. We didn't have to wait too much longer, however, and on Friday morning, two days past my due date, my water broke early, a good hour or two before I was otherwise ready to get up for the day. I returned to bed, and decided in my excitement to wake Heath. We relished the moment together.

I was hoping that with such an early start, I would certainly be finishing labor before the late hours of the next night. I should have known better, however, because all of my false labor contractions were always so much stronger in the evening and through the night. Sure enough, not much happened for most of the day. I had a bowl of cereal in the late afternoon, followed by a quick visit from some friends. At that point I started to grimace a bit through the contractions, and I asked Heath to take me on a walk. So as not to arouse the interest of the neighbors, I did my best not to look like I was in labor, but it was getting increasingly tough! The chilly evening sent us back indoors, and I called our midwife to let her know the contractions were getting stronger. She said I was probably still quite early in the process, given that I was able to call. As soon as I hung up, however, they got immediately worse. I headed down the hall for our bedroom (4 days later I have yet to emerge! but not to get ahead of myself...).

Much of the rest of the evening is a blur. I vaguely remember taking a brief, uncomfortable shower, and then Grace showing up, and she and Heath taking turns filling the birthing tub and helping me through contractions. At some point I remember yelling at Heath to send his vibrating phone out of the room, and at some point being vaguely aware of my two friends arriving but staying down the hall. I proceeded on the bed for some time, and then eagerly entered the birthing pool when it was ready. I think this was still 'early' in the night, maybe around midnight? The warm water helped me relax a bit between contractions, but already the pain was far greater than I thought I could manage, and I began begging Heath and Grace to take me to the hospital. Pain relief was sounding pretty good, and even a c-section just to 'get it over' was even suddenly feeling like a pretty good option. The only problem in my mind was that the journey to get to that hospital was going to be unpleasant, but at that point it still seemed worth trying! Grace and Heath did not agree with my 'good idea,' however.

The warm water ended up slowing my contractions too much, and so I reluctantly got out. The idea was to walk around a bit, but that didn't last long. Sometime around 2:30am, Heath and I collapsed into bed. Lying in bed continued to keep the contractions a bit slow, but I was desperate for rest and Grace agreed this might be helpful. Heath slept soundly for awhile, and I managed to fall asleep between every contraction for a good hour or two as well. This wasn't as nice as it sounds, however, as it was an awful feeling being jerked from sleep every two minutes by a most awful, dizzying, nauseating sort of pain. I was still panicking my way through the labor, begging my way out of it, and starting each contraction from sleep did not give me the chance to mentally gear up. Grace eventually needed sleep herself, and sent in Becky to help. She was a great coach, and talked me through each contraction. A half hour later, her baby woke and needed her, so in came Dorothy. I was panicked at having lost all my previous coaches, Grace, Heath, and Becky, but Dorothy ended up being exactly what I needed. She and I somehow fell into a rhythm with her coaching me through the breaths of every contraction, and I somehow made a mental switch of wanting to run away to finally accepting it. The only way I could cope, however, was by working only to take the next breath, and when I started to lose the breath, Dorothy always got me right back. The contractions started to feel less scary when I began to recognize a pattern of breathing to them. I knew where I was in the contraction based on what kind of breath I was taking, and how close I was to getting to the other side.

With new control from Dorothy, I eventually made it back off the bed (it took about 5 contractions to do it!...I was scared to try anything new.). Heath got up too, and I spent the next hour or two or three? in the bathroom, alternately sitting on the toilet or standing and hanging onto either Heath or Dorothy. Grace figured I was still a long way from full dilation, but my body felt like it was pushing with each contraction. I continued just to breathe through them, but eventually there was an unmistakable descending bulge between my legs. We called Grace in, and sure enough, Graham's head was descending. I was so encouraged!!! After a few more standing contractions, Grace allowed me back into the still-warm pool.

The contractions slowed quite considerably, which I really appreciated. It gave me new strength to actually push. Grace never spoke alarm, but as the hour(s) wore on, I could sense a bit of concern as she monitored heart tones. I knew I needed to get the little guy out, but never had something felt so impossible! I wished again I was where someone could just cut me open and take him out, this time as much for his own sake as mine. But alas, there was no such easy solution at hand, and there was nothing to do but push. And push.

Eventually, even I acknowledged that I was not getting far in the water, and so we agreed for me to stand up in the pool and semi-stand, semi-squat, leaning on Heath. The head bulged and bulged and then literally burst through on that first standing contraction, much to everyone's surprise, except maybe Heath. There was no ring of fire. Just a burst. Graham dropped into the water and was immediately scooped up, and I took him into my arms and sat down into the water on a stool. What wonderful relief! And it was just absolutely amazing to be finally holding him, and to know that we had just done an awesome thing together.

Graham took a good minute or two to really pink up. It was a scary first minute for me, and it was hard to grasp in my exhausted, delirious state exactly what was happening. But eventually he came around, and then it was time to get out of the tub. We made our way to the bed, where I delivered the placenta and discovered I had a third degree tear.

We had a wonderful, sweet time of bonding. Graham was wide awake for at least two hours, and really only took two very short naps the whole first day. He was otherwise blissfully awake and alert. Super special.

Stitching me up was quite the cultural experience, but the story of it I cannot fully tell. Suffice it to say, I am not relying on those stitches alone for my healing!

Five days later, I am still in bed, trying to recover. I have not left my room under strict orders since I last entered it in labor. The bruising, swelling, discomfort are pretty great, and are far more than I anticipated dealing with after a vaginal delivery. I am going a bit stir crazy, and am desperate to be able to get into a routine for my sake as well as the boys'. I am longing to be able to run and dance and play with Will again, and I am sad when I see him confused and sad at our current clumsy state.

Still, I am touched over and over again by the blessings of even this tough moment in our lives. We are surrounded by help and love, and I am still basking in the miracle of this awesome little Graham that has wiggled his way into our hearts and home.

In reflection, I wouldn't trade any of that most intense physical experience called natural birth. I would do it exactly like we did all over again, although I confess I will not be ready to even think about an 'again' for a long long time! I confess to even now wishing to fast forward at least a week or two, to when I can at least begin to resume life as I generally know it, but I also know this sweet time of cuddling a totally innocent, sweet-smelling love of a guy is not going to last long. I'm trying just to embrace this moment for exactly what it is. And it is good.

Sweet 7 AM:

Full Arms. Full Heart.

2010-01-20T11:33:00.001+02:00

I haven't quite figured out how to free my typing fingers for more than a moment or two, so this will be short for now I think, but all that to say: Baby Graham is here!!!

He is perfect and beautiful.

Graham Sheldon
born 1.16.10 7am
8 lbs 6 oz 22 inches

2010-01-04T12:25:00.001+02:00

Heath insisted my previous post about Will's chinese legos needed a photograph.

More Christmas Photos

2010-01-04T12:13:00.001+02:00

Heath was on active photographer duty Christmas morning. We got some fun ones of Will, and lots of me with pregnant belly not-quite-contained and therefore not on the blog, :) and I think none of Heath himself. Ooops! But here are some of those of Will.

Left to his own natural, silly ways, we got this smile from Will:

Pretty goofy.

Heath then instructed Will to open his eyes to smile, and this was the result:

Will was an enthusiastic helper for making our special Christmas breakfast, which was a replica of Christmas breakfasts of my childhood past: quiche, chocolate chip coffee cake, and fruit salad.

We sang Happy Birthday to Baby J, hence the candles in the coffee cake. Will got into it, and we even sang the song twice so he could help Baby J to blow out his candles twice.

Nerds also made it to our Christmas breakfast. They were one of Will's stocking stuffers, and they were a huge hit. Those and a knock-off Pez dispenser (it was actually more like a candy projectile device) alone probably could have sufficed in making the day for Will.

It was a small, quiet gathering for the three of us, but somehow the under-the-tree display was still quite impressive. Thank you to all who sent presents!

Will's Pink House

2010-01-04T09:22:00.001+02:00

Last weekend's project for Heath and Will was to convert our wash machine box into a little playhouse. The activity began with a trip to the hardware store for paint, and Will insisted on pink and purple. In the end, the purple paint can malfunctioned, and was ultimately replaced by blue paint for the house's interior, but the outside is a very pink pink. These pictures are only mid-project... none yet of the house's finished state in its pink glory.

(Heath did find Will's dance in these next two pictures particularly funny in light of the 'pink' theme...Will, we love you!)

Pink and purple are actually Will's unwaveringly favorite colors. When Heath took Will shopping for me for Christmas, Will decided he should have a new Christmas shirt too. It is actually a very cultural thing here to have new holiday clothes, so Heath conceded. Will's pick: a smokey-light-purple polo. He pulls the color off really well, and actually looks quite handsome in it. (As does Heath, in his light pink sweater!)

We are not too concerned about Will's love for beautiful colors, especially given his simultaneous love for dirt, trucks, smashing, and other typically boy pursuits. I am actually all the more endeared to him in his wonderful, innocent uniqueness.

Unraveled.

2009-12-27T20:50:00.001+02:00

I think that is the only word to describe what happened to Will tonight. We hosted a somewhat-impromptu dinner party tonight with 5 other adults and 4 other kids. They all arrived much before I had anticipated, which was fine on my part because they were all low-key enough not to mind the chaos of dinner preparation, but was probably not so great on Will's part because I hadn't even properly warned him for what was ahead.

Will really did great for the first while, especially with just the first family of one child. He even hung on for a bit when the next three kids charged in, and did beautifully with sharing his toys. But at some point he'd really just had enough, and he really just melted piece by piece. I tried to ward off as much frustration as I could, for example by setting his place in his usual spot, and making sure he had his preferred set of silver ware. But I guessed wrong on the cup, and that un-did him for the first 20 minutes of dinner. He eventually just kind of shut down, and fell sound asleep on the couch watching a movie while I continued to attend the guests and cleaned up dinner.

I actually feel really sad that I didn't get to connect with Will before he fell asleep, to tell him how proud I am of how well he managed tonight, all things considered. He was a trooper in his own respect.

I love him so much!! As he sleeps next to me on the couch now, I just want to scoop him up and cuddle him and cherish the fleeting moments of this exact time in our lives.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-26T19:44:00.001+02:00

I hope that many more pictures will follow, but for now, this is what I can manage! (I am just sitting with Will as he falls asleep, while other guests await my presence down the hall.)

Anyway, we had a lovely little Christmas, and it was a quiet, special day for our family. It was great.

We hope you all had a wonderful day too!

Are you serious?

2009-12-24T07:02:00.001+02:00

Will received an early Christmas gift, a set of Chinese knock-off duplos that make a giraffe. It is actually quite a nice gift, but the printed text on the box is pretty unbelievable:

"Hand* eye* the brain integration moderates It is beneficial to help your child increases their grow in wisdom the sex, interest, creativity."

Huh.

Photo Shoot

2009-12-22T21:55:00.001+02:00

Last weekend's project was to take a Christmas card photo. Grammy bravely took on the role of photographer, which wasn't easy given Heath's good-intentioned but nearly professional standards! She did great, though, and I think the process was at least partly fun, if also partly stressful.

In the end, we had a few great options. For now, I'll post the ones that didn't make it onto our card.

Here is a fun series:

And another belly shot:

And some super silly ones of Will, who definitely reached his limit more than once:

And finally, one more fine picture of our handsome guy:

Field Trip

2009-12-22T21:49:00.001+02:00

Will's first field trip (and school bus ride!) is tomorrow, I think. We received a letter saying the children have been invited to the Marriott hotel to view the Christmas tree tomorrow, and I took that to mean a field trip. Heath just thought it meant that we were invited as families to go on our own sometime. I love how vague the school notices are that we receive! Certainly no such thing as a 'permission slip,' as far as I can tell. And as for notice of school holidays, that too comes the day before! No school calendar yet.

Anyway, I am pretty sure that I am right about it being a field trip, especially after Will mentioned that they were going to take a bus, and that after they get back, they will see Santa at the school. Will didn't seem especially excited about the trip, though, and I was confused why until Will finally asked me to ask his teacher if they can stay at the hotel just for a really short time, but not for lots of days.

Oh, the processing of a 3 year old! It of course never crossed my mind that they would stay at the hotel overnight, but what other context does Will have for a hotel, except that it is a place to sleep?

We have assured him that we will make sure his teacher brings them back quickly.

Not quite the same...

2009-12-21T20:25:00.001+02:00

Our borrowed Christmas tree is definitely a little on the sad, scrawny, plastic-y, not-quite-enough-lights side. I didn't think Will would know any better, but tonight when we were talking with Kerry on Skype, Will made a special request to see her Christmas tree again through the computer video after seeing it once already a few days ago. Will said "Look! Dad! Her Christmas tree is a lot better than ours!"

Not much escapes his attention anymore! We'll have to see what we can do next year (I think we can at least improve on the height, and maybe even the quantity of lights), although for now it feels satisfying in a different way to be practicing being thankful simply for what we have.

A good reminder for me too, as I compare Christmases of my own childhood with this current one approaching. I am doing my very best to make it special, especially for Will, but it is just hard without so many of the people who have made past celebrations special, and without access to many of the 'festivities' that always made Christmas feel like Christmas.

Christmas here certainly gets stripped down to the basics, which as far as it allows us to really reflect on the purest meaning, can't be such a bad thing.

And with that, I am off to bake another batch of cookies...

A Little Bit of Christmas

2009-11-30T21:31:00.001+02:00

Last year we didn't quite get around to setting out Christmas decorations given that we were in the middle of settling into our new home, and Will was young enough not to notice. This year, however, Will has been asking for Christmas ever since August, and I don't think he would let us get away without putting up a tree.

Our tree isn't much, standing about 4' tall, but Will definitely got into the activity of helping to set it up. He loved unwrapping our ornament collection and hanging each one (well, as many as could fit, which seemed to perfectly match the length of Will's attention span). The tree is almost reminiscent of my childhood tree, with many of the same ornaments now hanging.

Grammy is here for two weeks to help us settle into our new apartment (pictures coming soon?) and to give me a bit of rest as we near the end of my pregnancy. I am on loose medical orders to limit physical activity, and I confess to not being very good at it. It is a little bit easier though with a mom to tell me to go take a nap, and to know that Will will meanwhile be in very good hands! We are very happy and grateful to have Grammy here with us right now.

Please excuse my funny pose! I have included this one for the sake of the 'belly shot,' per popular demand.

I don't quite remember why exactly Will was riding Grammy, but they sure were having fun!

This might have been Grammy's favorite ornament...

Heath carefully posed this last shot. Beautiful boy.

My BIG Boy

2009-11-23T05:24:00.001+02:00

This guy can still be all cuddles when he wants to be, but I am also realizing how quickly he is growing up. The theme of the last two weeks has been: I can do it myself! Walking into school, going to the potty, putting his jacket on, brushing his teeth, taking a shower, etc., all [mostly] without help. He is proud of his new degree of independence, and yes, I am proud for him! I still savor every moment of his baby-ness, but I also love watching the whole process of growing.

Chief

2009-11-18T15:47:00.001+02:00

No, this wasn't another round of Halloween. These are pictures from August, when we spent a very fun afternoon with friends in Chicago. It was an exceptionally hot, sticky day, and Will also learned the joy of a backyard hose. He first just had fun spraying all the other kids, and then finally discovered that running through it himself (well, with me running through it too) was also quite fun. Homemade ice cream cookie sandwiches concluded the very special day!

(Sadly, we don't have any pictures of our friends! We love you Wallenfangs!)

At last...

2009-11-17T16:42:00.001+02:00

... a return to blogging, after another long absence.

I'll probably post photo highlights from the last few months, but I'll start with the least outdated first!

Somehow, being outside of America made me a little more excited to help Will experience the all-American phenomenon of Halloween. Really, I have been craving any experience of autumn we can get. The Children's Museum hosted a Halloween party, and it was a great excuse to get Will and Marcus into their costumes. We actually managed to walk out with only one tiny piece of candy, and that was quite alright with me. Will didn't know any better...last year we were traveling to our new home across the world on Halloween day, and his one trick-or-treating experience the year before was way too far back in his memory for him to recall.

Some Fun News...

2009-10-26T20:34:00.001+03:00

Heath and I attended our first parent-teacher conference yesterday. I was very excited for the opportunity to finally have a chance to find out in more detail how Will has been doing.

The most fun report from his teachers is that he is growing more comfortable participating in group activities, and even succeeded in singing a song for all of his classmates during circle time last week. They said he is a sweet gentleman that they enjoy having in their class. I am proud.

Another fun school development is that Will is learning his first Arabic words. I didn't have to wait until our conference to find this out; Will has already enjoyed bringing his new words home to try them out and to practice. These first words include the Arabic equivalents for blue, red, one, big, and small. He can also recognize many others, but doesn't tend to produce them on his own. And, even for these first few that he is saying, he tends to come up with his own, sweet versions. I.e. instead of saying 'seguir' for small, he says 'Samir,' which is the name of a family friend... Fun beginnings.

Haram.

2009-10-07T22:13:00.001+03:00

Pork is haram, or forbidden, in Islam.

For most of our past 11+ months here, out of respect for others and perhaps also shame, I have tried to steer clear of the scant pork offerings in the corner of the deli case at the local supermarket.

I gained some sense of the gravity of the prohibition of pork when someone explained that pork is as foul to a Muslim as rat would be to an American.

Somehow, though, a few weeks ago I broke down and purchased a package of bacon. And then another. It just seemed so nice to have one more meat option, especially one that Will really enjoys, and especially since there really aren't other good turkey or chicken breakfast meat alternatives like there are in the US.

I bought yet another package of pork product yesterday, and my favorite, most helpful bagger was bagging up my groceries. The shame started when I realized the package had fallen out of my cart, onto the floor, without my noticing. An employee confusedly picked it up, and I reluctantly claimed it and put it last onto the belt behind the other food. The bagger was then noticeably distressed when he saw it coming, and instructed the cashier to flip it into the bag with another (not haram) package of meat, so that neither would have to touch it. It was quite a production.

Oh the shame I felt!

I'm guessing it was enough to re-instill my initial good sense to abstain while living in this country. And to all who I may have offended: I am sorry.

2009-09-28T21:34:00.001+03:00

My new favorite time of the day with Will is when I pick him up from school. The mornings before dropping him off are still often a bit rough, but at 12:30pm, when I return to get Will, he is invariably super sweet, polite, loving, and very excited to show off whatever artwork he produced during the day. We tend to linger at the door for a few minutes while he unloads his backpack and pockets to show me whatever treasures he has collected.

Somehow, the process of strapping him back into his car seat seems to sort of snap him back into his usual still-very-fun but also very human, 3-year-old self with the usual mix of good and bad moments that is par for the course. I am, of course, still madly in love even with this standard version of our amazing little guy, and our afternoons together feel very special after our mornings apart.

Getting Our Money's Worth

2009-09-18T00:13:00.001+03:00

Heath is somehow more successful than I am at catching glimpses of Will in his classroom setting. I always love hearing Heath's observations, given that Will's teachers already have him running out the door to greet me by the time I arrive each day.

Heath has observed that Will is almost always in his own corner of the room (which I more or less predicted would happen), while all the other kids are generally circled up. Will has the attention of the one awesome teacher often to himself, it seems, while the other teacher handles the rest.

I do in fact hope that Will will gradually become more comfortable interacting with other kids (and therefore allow his teachers to more equally share their attention!), but I also really do appreciate the Montessori method that allows children their own freedom, as long as it does not interfere with the freedom of others. I hope that Will will continue to be encouraged to join in group activities, while not being forced to learn to do so at an inappropriate or uncomfortable pace.

Another fun observation Heath made when picking Will up yesterday (Will asked Heath to pick him up so that he could put a special sticker from school in Heath's car, just like he did in mine) was that he found Will dancing. An encouraging sign that Will just might indeed be thriving, and not just surviving, in school!

We are indeed so grateful to have found a pretty ideal little spot for Will to first learn how to do this 'school thing.'

School Update

2009-09-15T20:03:00.001+03:00

In case anyone has been on the seat of his or her chair, wondering how Will has been managing his first week+ of school, I will give a quick report.

His adjustment has continued to exceed all of our expectations, although it hasn't been completely easy, either. Last week, Will generally pleaded from the moment he woke up to not have to go to school, and then he would generally have to be carried to the car, crying. I dropped him off for the first time on Thursday, and my heart ached at having to hand him over while he was still in tears.

I was greatly comforted, however, by how every day when I picked him up, he seemed to be doing completely great.

This week has had a marked improvement in the dropping-off process. Yesterday he cried just as he left the house, reluctantly following Heath to the car. But then, as soon as they arrived at school, he immediately stopped, grabbed his backpack, and said a care-free "Bye Dad!" And today, for the very first time, there were no tears and only a bit of grumbling.

Being a perfectionist, especially in my parenting, I find it easy to doubt our choices. It feels easy to move to a place of 'Is this really the best thing for Will? Am I just being selfish to send him off, letting others now take on a huge role in shaping and teaching him? Can they really do as good a job as I can do, especially if I were to just keep trying harder?' Will's tears and complaints can sometimes feel like a confirmation that I have made a wrong decision. But then I come back to why we decided in the first place that it was important to us to have him now in school, and I am comforted, almost to laughing, when Will tells me the hardest things about school are that there is too much sand in the sandbox (it is indeed huge!) and that they play-dough is weird (which I am guessing it is...but that is nothing I am going to fret about!).

Funny Things Will Said Yesterday

2009-09-15T11:43:00.001+03:00

Me: Is it fun going potty at school? Do they have little potties?

Will: They do. And they have special big sinks for big kids, and a secret bathroom for teachers. They're a surprise!... The school is very organized.

(I love the conclusion: an organized school. I kind of just started at Will after he said that. Where does he learn to think these thoughts?!?)

Later in the day, he had another funny conversation with my friend Becky in regards to this necklace he was wearing, which we made together last week. [Will is newly into 'art projects.' I think he picked this up from school. He also just discovered my big box of art supplies, which he had been oblivious to in the past. I have always been intimidated by crafts, due to my own lack of creativity, along with the set-up/clean-up required, but Will is no longer letting me off the hook! And it has been fun... anyway, back to this story!]

Will told Becky that if she liked the necklace, she could buy one next week at a Ramadan store. [I'm not sure what a Ramadan store is, but it is quite fun to hear how Will is trying out different ways of piecing together new ideas in his brain!]

Tired.

2009-09-12T20:10:00.001+03:00

Heath is away for a 4-day business conference, and Will and I have now survived three of them. It seems inevitable that anytime Heath leaves, Will or both of us end up sick. Heath's first night away, will woke up a few hours after falling asleep, inconsolable because his mouth (I'm pretty sure that means throat), hurt. It was a rough night, and last night was rough again. Both nights ended absurdly early. Agh!

Still, I suppose we're doing pretty well. A friend I often take walks with in the evenings after Heath comes home from work came over and offered to walk this morning carrying Will in our hiking backpack. We were quite the sight, and nearly every passing car had one or more passengers turning in their seats to get a better look at us. We heard or saw lots of people laughing or making comments, but the topper was when we passed a private security guard, stationed outside the residence of a diplomat, and he muttered in English, "Oh my God."

Our hot walk was followed by a cool swim (yes, we do have a small but very beautiful pool on the ground floor of our building...it has rescued us from boredom through the hot summer months).

Will was ultra cranky this afternoon, but we were again saved by a dinner invitation from another friend. Homemade minestrone soup and sourdough whole wheat bread, followed by the best ice cream I've had in a long time: homemade oatmeal raisin cookie. Yum!!! Will eventually completely melted, but recovered slightly enough when we got home so that I could get him into bed. I think he was asleep in seconds, once he was finally settled in.

I'm off to bed soon, in case we once again meet the new day well before the birds or the sun.

School Days...

2009-09-08T08:45:00.001+03:00

have begun for Will. I can't really believe it, especially when I check in on him sound asleep at night, his little body half little boy, half still my baby. Enrolling Will in preschool more or less starts him on a very, very long formal educational journey. I do hope this is journey is a fun and satisfying one for him!

Will's first day exceeded all expectations, I am so thankful to say. Heath had to carry him out the door to his great protest, and Heath left him at school while he was still whimpering, but I picked up a very, very chipper Will a few hours later. "Mom, I liked it!" he said with a huge smile. His teacher reported he did great as soon as Heath had left, and that he was a very sweet, lovely child.

I credit this one very amazing teacher for the first day's success. His other teacher also seems great, as does the classroom helper.

Still, this transition to full-time school-going (well, I suppose it's technically half-time) is going to be pretty tough. Will begged and begged this morning to be all done with school, and he was more than whimpering when Heath had to leave him this morning.

A few fun photos to commemorate getting ready for that first big day:

(still a little sleepy)

(Will paused in his protests for Heath to take these pictures. I think the excitement of wearing his backpack was sufficient distraction to cheer him up for a minute.)

News from our family of FOUR(!)

2009-08-26T22:02:00.001+03:00

The newest Baby Arensen is giving us all a big wave from en-utero. Yes, this is our official blog announcement that we are indeed expecting -- a little boy, in fact, who is due to arrive mid-January!

This little peanut already holds a special place in our hearts, and we can't wait to hold him in our arms in another few months. Even little Will is gearing up for his new big-brother role, and if you ask him, he'll probably tell you there's a baby growing in his little tummy as well. It's fun to be pregnant in good company.

Summer Fun

2009-08-25T21:23:00.001+03:00

After Charlevoix, Will and I spent the next few weeks in Chicago. I suppose it was a bit of our mission to do lots of the fun things we don't usually have opportunity to do in Jordan. On our activity list was a Children's Museum, a trip on the commuter train into the city, the zoo, and a train museum where a 'real' Thomas engine was visiting.

This is actually how our day at the train museum started. We rode on an old 'El' train first thing, and Will promptly fell asleep.

A very hot and sweaty Aunt Kerry and Nana, riding on the 'Thomas' train at the end of our day.

There were quite a few Thomas-themed things set up at the museum, but I was quite impressed that someone thought to put out a big pile of sand with a few buckets and shovels. Will loved it.

Neighborhood parks were a HUGE favorite while we were in Chicago. The best was a big grassy (and playground-less) park across the street from Nana's home, where we spent hours each day kicking a 'soccer' ball, running races, and just generally being goofy. Another big hit was a sprinkler and sand park down the street from Kerry's home. Will mostly avoided the sprinklers, but loved the sand.

Highlights for me were visits with some family and a few good friends, as well as rain storms, farmers' markets, and their accompanying fresh fruits and vegetables. I guess corn on the cob needs to be added to Will's highlights. Will always cleared his own, as well the rest of whatever I wasn't able to get to quickly enough on mine.

We have been back in Jordan for over a week now, and are past the worst of the jet lag. We are loving being back with Heath, and are getting settled back into a more normal, low-key routine made even more low-key by the month of Ramadan. The start of pre-school for Will is looming near in the future, and we are both getting ready and relishing these last few weeks of blissful, unstructured childhood moments.

2009-08-09T05:48:00.001+03:00

Will: "Mom, I figured out why we came back to visit Chicago."
Me: "Yeah?"
Will: "So that we could learn about Metra trains."

Yeah, something like that.

(Metra trains are the Chicago-area commuter trains that we have been watching pass through Nana's neighborhood. We even took a ride on one in and out of the city the other day. Obviously a highlight!)

Charlevoix

2009-08-08T05:37:00.001+03:00

We bid farewell to Charlevoix nearly two weeks ago now, but it is never too late to reflect on the really great time we had there.

Blueberries, beaches, ice cream, and long leisurely walks. Rain and a fire-warmed cottage. Cuddling up in cozy sweatshirts, and TWO! awesome displays of fireworks (Will loved them both).

I didn't carry my camera along nearly as often as I wish I had, but here are some fun favorite pictures from our stay.

Our all-time favorite fruit stand and donut shop has an awesome play area in front of the orchards. We spent a few hours there over the two weeks. Will is chillin' on the tractor.

A cloudy day at the beach. One of many! Will didn't mind.

On a particularly cold and rainy day, we 'hit the shops' at the next town north, and lunched at a famous old sandwich shop. We even indulged in pie and ice cream. (There seems to be a 'sugar' theme running here. I don't think it was quite as bad as it sounds...although I am sure it was plenty bad enough.)

(We came away with a new pair of school shoes for Will; he had entirely outgrown his previous pair of sneakers. Will picked them out himself after Heath initiated the process, and he refused to consider any other pair. They are indeed nice.)

Another all-time favorite spot, a state park on Lake Michigan. Perfect for a bratwurst BBQ, a stroll down the beach, and some ball play with Dad. (Beautiful, green, outdoor places like this are very high on my list of what I miss most when we are living far away in desert lands.)

Fun at the Venetian Festival fair, killing time before fireworks. Will was plenty excited just to watch the rides. The only thing we paid for was the popcorn.

As a final thought on Charlevoix, we also had a really special time to remember and celebrate 'Poppa' with our three aunts and our cousin. It was bittersweet to think of all the special times we had with him, and yet to mourn the loss of no longer having him here with us.

This was Will's first introduction to death of a loved one. He definitely remembered Poppa, and knew that Charlevoix was where he was supposed to see him.

My Arab

2009-08-08T05:07:00.001+03:00

Obviously not the most recent photo, but it was taken the week just before we left Jordan.

And yes, Heath, we miss you. Again. Always. Can't wait to be with you soon.

Pooped

2009-08-07T05:27:00.001+03:00

I realize I have been absent from blogging land for awhile (nothing new!) and it is all because we are having such a full, fun time being with family in America. At the end of each day, this is about how Will and I have both been feeling!:

Nothing much left in me to blog with, but I think I might be re-inspired, and I finally at least downloaded pictures from my camera onto the computer, so there should be more posts to come. Check back soon!

I'm Not 2 Anymore?!

2009-07-16T19:39:00.001+03:00

When someone asks Will now how old he is, he answers, "I'm not 2 anymore?!!." I think he replies that way because he doesn't really know the correct direct answer. He has had it in his brain for a really long time that 1 is somehow older than 2, and therefore is confused whether he is now 1, like he thinks, or 3, like everyone keeps telling him. And really, one finger is a whole lot easier to hold up than three.