9th Month, 1st Words, 0 Teeth

Well, Kade has certainly hit a growth spurt lately and is, ah, very active! You can tell by the following series of photos, which were to be his "9 month" shots, but instead show how it's suddenly hard to get him to "sit and smile" like before.



There's toys to explore, after all. And just who is this dog?

The remote seemed like a good bribe, as he's usually not allowed to fling, chew, hammer, or otherwise touch it. Check out his "Michael Jordan" look as he slam dunks the remote to the floor!

Also, this past week, he had his first word... first uttered amid a bunch of other syllables and sounds, so we weren't sure he knew what he was saying. The next day, he gives the awake signal from his crib-- when Jim goes up and says "Good Morning Buddy!", Kaden broke into a huge smile and said "DA". Of course.

However, within two days we heard "MA" and then "mmmmmaaaammmmmm" (with some tears) when I left the room. He's actually got the first sounds to a few words, like "buh" for bye or sometimes book or even bird. "Duck" comes out fairly clearly in the bath. According to his Nana, he's also got down "NAAAAAAN" (when he doesn't want to nap).... a variation of "fish" and FFFFFF for frog, "baba" for bottle, and something like "guh" for good. So it's a definte 3 or 4, and maybe even a dozen(!). Guess it's a growth spurt after all :)

Happy Easter!

"That's the man in charge of Easter" -overheard at church, when a woman tried to bribe her grand kids into behaving.... she was alluding to Jim, our youth minister extraordinaire, who coordinates the Children's Mass AND the Easter Egg fun afterward... but I think we all know the man really in charge of Easter, yes? May Jesus continue to rise in our hearts, bringing new life where we need it most!



That's an appropriate prayer for me after the craziness of Lent/Holy Week/Easter. I was somewhat disappointed that we wouldn't have a "normal" family Easter, since I was working the Vigil Sat. night and Jim worked Easter morning. But during the rehearsal with our candidates & Elect (those coming into the church that night), the Spirit nudged me into a better mood and I was able to embrace the weekend.

One thing that especially struck me was the differences between the Vigil (many symbols like fire and light, readings of how God has acted throughout history, baptisms and professions of faith- 2.5 hours total) and the Children's Mass (balloons, theater seating, short readings by soft spoken kids, background "kiddie" noises the whole time- 45 minutes total). Complete opposites in terms of style... and yet I was struck how the evident the Spirit was in both. Holding the two up as great examples of an Easter Mass... not choosing one as "better"... that is the best of our Church, I think.

and so Kaden's first Easter was a bit of Mass, a bit of eating, and a lot of visiting. We wound up "making the rounds" and visiting three different families.

It was great to see them all, and especially nice to share the table with a friend who's recovering from surgery and her aunt. Keep Jenny in your prayers for healing, please!

As I type, I'm realizing we forgot to dye some eggs--- but if the Church can celebrate Easter for six weeks, so can we!

A Sunday Walk

Holy Week is kinda busy when you work for the church... so you'll have to excuse the lack of witty (!) writing and satisfy yourself with a few snapshots from yesterday's walk...

a burrowing owl.

the litter outside his burrow hole makes me feel bad.

but then I think, if endangered species can't spring clean,

why am I pressuring myself?

Kade holding on for dear life as we race past Daddy.

Everyday sunset.
This is actually the view from our driveway / kitchen window.

Happy Birthday Friends!

Did you know that this week is my Uncle's birthday? I'd like to give him a proper shout out, since he is the coolest uncle around. Even if he does live in NY. Even though it's not too often, we've had some great vacation times together: sometimes at his house, which was a vacation for me, not him. But even if he was working, he found time to save me from being drowned in the pool by my boy cousin (not that we're naming names, RUSS). When I was in high school, we headed to Puerto Rico- and he translated almost everything for me and Kerri, except that one time in that mountaintop diner when that lady got arrested for "a disagreement" but now looking back it was probably, ah, solicitation. Or maybe not, my spanish isn't that great you know, and he's always looking out for us.

And then there was that one time we celebrated his 60th birthday in the mountains of Tennessee... where he officially became my mom's older brother, because everyone knows she's only 58. And some sad get togethers too, like my nana's funeral up in NY or when he came to visit us after dad died. So you know, for living so far away, we still have some pretty cool memories... mostly because Uncle Bob is a pretty cool guy, and an awesome uncle. I'm lucky to be related and if you're not, I hope you have someone like him in your family too :) HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

But of course, we can't mention him without also embarrassing Aunt Jeanne. Who also lives far, far away and wishes she could see and hold and spoil Kaden up close. I know this because she emails me after every post, reassuring me of the Babe's cuteness and helpfully pointing out parenting errors. Like mentioning a sister in law, for example, instead of a blood aunt. So here's to you, Aunt Jeanne, faithful reader and wife of the birthday boy. Enjoy "your" pics!

Now, how do I get out of this thing again?

Kaden, meet.... Kaden.

Happy Birthday, Nickers! You're too cute!

Happy Birthday, Lexi! You're also so cute, it's like you're twins!

Birthday friends with Kaden.

Note to self: photographing multiple children under 2 is not a good career choice.

Happy Birthday to Nick, Lexi, Kerri, Russ and Uncle Bob!!

(all within 7 days of each other)