night owls

It's 8:30 on a Friday night and our household is winding down, as we do most every night around this time. I keep telling myself that it's only temporary - maybe by this time next year we'll be able to stay up until 11 p.m. (what a thought!) without feeling like we're sacrificing the next day's good mood. I will say that early mornings are very productive - a lot happens before the sun rises here at Lostview farm - mostly related to getting the babes fed and changed and entertained, or more challenging - keeping them quiet while one or two housemates enjoys the luxury of sleeping in. It's a system these days though and it works. We're still a lot of fun - just catch us before sunset for a good time.

Charis and I have spent the past couple of days doing parallel mom work here at the homestead. Owain is a stitch with his squeals and enormous smiles. When he's not giving me grief at bedtime, Ellis is a riot - especially running around naked and hyper after a bath (currently one of his favorite activities). He's actually running now - more or less - no more crawling for this mobile boy. He's fast and very excited about it. Ellis is also talking more every week - now we're up to the following vocab repertoire: hot, moo, bark, shoe - and he happily signs "more" "milk" and "eat," sometimes interchangably, but we get the picture. He's opinionated and silly, loud and sweet. Ellis LOVES to give Owain kisses and mimic O's sounds. They're funny around each other - both entertained and fascinated by the other. We anticipate a very rambunctious household in the coming months and years. We can't promise you won't banana-peel slide on a giant lego or pop-up book, but we can promise you a good time.

The photos here are a smattering of the past few weeks - some taken during a trip Chris and I took with Ellis to my family's cabin on Golden Lake in the U.P. - a beautiful fall weekend at a very special place. I'm so glad it's a part of Ellis's life now. He embraced Golden fully - lake, woods, & racing around the cabin just like his mama, aunts & uncles. Here's to teaching E to swim there next summer!

Well, I'm reaching my limit here for coherent thought, so I ought to sign off. Looking forward to the rest of fall at the farm - then the celebration and hunkering down of winter...fires, cocoa, glogg, family, festivity, skiing, walks in the snow, toasty hot tub.

Good night!

Owain @ 9 weeks

I have to say I'm pretty dang happy I had me a big, strong, strapping babester. Now that Jay's back at work, Owain and I go down to do barn chores together every morning, and he loves it! Even when it's a crisp 25 degrees out! And he doesn't even flinch when Gideon goes in for a big-schnozz kiss, which I myself might find a bit intimidating: 3-D comin' at ya...

Autumn at Lostview and Beyond

Owain @ 8 weeks

Hey everyone! Just a little Owain update: what a monkey! Our child is in PERPETUAL MOTION, even when sleeping (which is why Jay and I have switched sides in bed, as he has the gifts necessary to sleep next to an eggbeater!) According to Jay's mom, Jay was a little spaz too (surprise, surprise) - I have to admit that I did ask the baby fairy to give our child Jay's metabolism and my teeth, so I suppose I shouldn't complain. One down and one to go!

We seem to have pinpointed Owain's digestion issues to dairy products, eggs and my iron supplement(!) and as I avoid these, his reflux is beginning to improve. Of course, he could just be growing out of it. Our nights are a bit better as we're getting a bit of a routine down. Still sleep deprived (he wakes to eat about every 2 1/2 hours or so - sometimes longer on a good night) but not quite as much of a zombie, all in all.

Jay's back to work today, and the baby and I have enjoyed a chill day. We took a hike despite rainy weather. Owain is already holding his head up by himself, which the sling brochure says doesn't usually happen until between 3 - 4 months, which leads me to conclude that our child is extremely advanced/talented and gifted (T.A.G.) in the neck strength department. Such a big boy!

We had a great weekend in Madison seeing Jay's family and giving Owain time to bond with Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Emily and Uncle Greg and Cousins Hope and Ellie. Fun!

Alright, that's it for now.

Over and out!

Charis

Blah Mama

Howdy folks -

Boy, it's been a while since I posted, and with good reason. Because if I had, it would have looked something like this: dkaosaid jdkaekls ieoa skl wiisisoo ds a idiaiw sldiiiske sdii skdiaoehyc.

And not because I've developed my own language a la JRR Tolkien in my spare time.

Basically, now I know why they use sleep deprivation to torture prisioners. You know it's pathetic when you're REALLY excited to get in a 2 hour block of shut eye. The only reason I have the capacity to write now is because last night went really well and I got a 3/2.5/1.5. Woo hoo! My poor darling is afflicted with acid reflux, as Jay posted earlier. It's a good thing his days are such a mellow-yellow kick in the pants (as I type he's having an animated conversation with the ceiling fan and flailing his arms and legs wildly about), because nighttime is all about siezing, writhing, choking and gagging. I'm eating about 10 different things total in an attempt to remove any possible allergy-related/reflux triggering food from my diet. We've spent a mint on gripe water. We saw an accupuncturist. We are most likely dangers to ourselves and others when behind the wheel of a car. We don't get much of a chance to take care of any personal hygeine. The list goes on and on.

Otherwise, Owain is growing and thriving like a champ (which I'm grateful for, because often reflux babies don't want to eat, as it hurts their throats and they lose ground fast. Not my kid. If he had it his way, he'd be permanently attached to my nipple). He's in the 98th-100th percentile in length, weight and head size (he's almost 14 pounds now!) and is smiling, cooing, and practicing the upright bass in preparation for his role in the family band. He's pretty chill, and often times will put himself to sleep for naps, but he's certainly his own person, still growling when he wants to eat and now throwing a funny little tantrum when he gets burped between sides. He also INSISTS on facing out when going for walks in the sling (which he loves), and is already holding his head up and looking around like a big boy. His hair pretty much all fell out except for a little monk ring around the back, and he's getting some fine lighter/blonde-ish fuzz growing in now, which is cute but takes away a bit from the old man angle he was working earlier. Jay also insists that he's now sporting a "Ted forehead." (To see the resemblance for yourself, check out the photo on Jay's "Fine and O.K." post below.)

So, I'm not gonna lie. I've done a lot of crying this month. A lot. Sheer exhaustion, ugly-style crying. The baby is a peach, but I'm learning that being a parent is hard, and the hardest part (so far) is watching my child suffer. The best part (so far) is watching his personality get bigger along with his jowls and thighs. Also, I'd just like to say thank the sweet baby haysus for Jay and his endless energy reserves! I'd never be able to do this without him. He's a brilliant, caring, hands-on dad, expert burper, and creative in his many methods to try and get our child to sleep peacefully. I'm in awe. Really.

In other farm news, we made a load of apple cider with some of our own apples and some from Jay's co-teacher Brenda; Ellis is walking on his own and even has a few words under his belt(!) and the cats have become hard-boiled mouse killers as the rodents are finding their way into the house for winter. Gus, if you're reading this, please leave them out where we can find them and not under the piano for later/smellier discovery. Also, not where we will step on them in the dark at the foot of the stairs. Your cooperation is appreciated..

Love to all - thanks for your comments and posts. I'm so happy to hear from you!

Charis

Exodus 8:17

And the Lord said do not control nature. But man does not listen. Man decides to plow acres of fields of the same crop. Then man complains that pests are ruining the crop. Then man introduces a foreign species to destroy that pest. But that foreign species has no enemy in the foreign land and rules spreading its odor and annoyance to all bright and warm houses in October.