She walks!

To view the June 2009 photo album, click here.

After much anticipation and a lot of hard work, our girls finally took their first steps.

First, Jordan decided that this crawling business was for the birds. I think she finally got sick of the dirty knees, getting trampled by the dogs and having to look up all the time. Just like the posters depicting man's journey through evolution, she became erect, stood on two legs and started putting one foot in front of the other with 100% independance. After a few shaky days, she was off and running LITERALLY! The transformation inside of one week is mind boggling. Now that she's been at it for almost three weeks, it would seem as if she has been doing this for months and months. AMAZING! We can see her improvement day by day. Tonight, she walked along side Stephen as he rolled the garbage cans out to the end of our driveway. Last week she couldn't make it to the end of the driveway with me as I held her hand! Again, AMAZING!

Next it was our neice Kalyn's turn to make her deput as a highschool graduate. Even though we weren't there to see her take those first steps, Uncle Mike provided the photographic proof that she she walked confidently across the stage to take what was rightfully hers - her diploma. Her plans include college at Methodist U in Fayette, NC with the help of a scholarship to play college softball. Her parents are extremely proud, and I understand a little sad to see her go. It certainly will be exciting to watch her continue to grow.

In spite of a cool, and rainy June, summer has come to the North Country. Even though the air feels cool, its warm enough for shorts - so I guess it's not that cool. The evenings are long enough to go outside after dinner for a little horseplay before showers and bedtime. Man, I wish we could have more of that! We had a nice visit from Uncle Mike, and the weather cooperated for an outdoor campfire and sleep out. Daddy and Jake slept out in a tent, while mommy, Jordan and Uncle Mike enjoyed the comforts of home inside. Jake loved it, and Stephen loved it because Jake loved it so much. The gardens are coming along. I've started cutting lettuce and pulling green onions. We've hilled up the potatoes once, and I trimmed the blossoms from the garlic. Tomato plants have been staked and tied, beans have sprouted and the broccoli heads will start to appear any day now.

The month ended on a very sweet note. Jake, Jordan and I met a girlfriend from highschool and her family at the Paul Smith's VIC. I hadn't seen Kristen (Wilson) Updegrove since before graduation (17 yrs ago). We reconnected on Facebook and she mentioned that her family vacations in Lake Placid. We worked out the details and it turned out to be a wonderful treat. She and her husband have a beautiful family and it was great fun getting to know them, and catching up with Kristen all at the same time.

We have lots in store for July. National holidays, weddings, vacations, camping, swimming lessons, picnics, boating, summer projects and other appointments have my calendar completely cluttered up. Not a bad list of To Do's if you ask me. Happy Birthday goes out to Aunt Julie, Grandma Kolb, Mattie-moo, and Jeremiah Howard, and Happy 9th Anniversary to Stephen and me. Hope you all get out and enjoy the sunshine. Take care.

To view the June 2009 photo album, click here.

Boat For Sail

Just in time for summer, this 15' Newport beauty is in 'ready to launch' condition. You'll have no problem reaching your favorite waterway with this trailer. Sailboat has a zippy disposition and is great fun for a day sail. Package includes sloop rigging, jib & main sales and trailer. Asking $1,000 Or will trade for 2 tandem Kayaks Or comparable offer. Contact (315) 265-4233. Boat viewable by roadside or by appointment in Parishville, New York.

Close encounters with the wild kind

Mrs. Manning invited us to share a precious moment with Jake and the rest of us one Spring morning in June. This fawn decided to take a cat nap in her back yard. First spotted by Mr. Manning as he let his dogs out in the morning, the fawn laid curled up there for hours. As we made our way towards it, the fawn hardly flinched a muscle for several minutes. At first sight, it looked to me like a large cat curled up in the grass. Jake didn't have any reservations. He stomped right up to it, as if it was one of grammi's baby farm animals. Just before it came into reach, the fawn decided he'd had enough and teetered off into the woods. Enjoy a clip of the video I captured!

Summer Reading

I promised myself I would read this summer in place of watching reruns of last season's prime time TV. There have been 2 books on my nightstand since just before Jordan was born (yes, more than 12 months now) and I decided to tackle them first.

The lighter of the two turned out to be an absolute treat. "A Northern Light" by Jennifer Donnelly (Amazon.com permalink http://amzn.com/0152053107) is dubbed a young adult novel, but I enjoyed its light, uncluttered language with a clear description of tougher times than any of us can remember. The book is set in the Adirondacks with descriptions of the hotels and great camps that we fantisize about still today. A subplot is based on a real murder mystery whichs adds authenticity to the whole experience. I feel that all women can identify with the lead character, Mattie Gokey, as she faces the rest of her life with the decisions she makes at sixteen. I purchased two copies of this book from a craft show at Clarkson. The author's mother was a vendor at the show, and I felt a connection with it's title and cover almost immediately. I gave one copy to Alice for a xmas gift, and the other waited patiently for me to get to. Now that I've finished it, I'm going to pass it on to my Grandma Roth. She doesn't know it's coming, I think she'll enjoy it, as well.

It's good to be reading again. With all the hustle bustle, it seems to be one of the first habits I let go (writing being a close second) when faced with constrained time and energy. I'm going to start on the second book while the momentum is strong, and I am hoping to share my reactions to it at its conclusion. Stay tuned...

warning :)

This came from my mom and I thought it was hilarious given Jacob’s upcoming assignment!  Enjoy!

 

Children in Church

 

A little boy was in a relative's wedding. 

 As he was coming down the aisle, he would take two steps,

stop, and turn to the crowd.

    While facing the crowd, he would put his hands up like claws and roar.

     So it went, step, step, ROAR, step, step, ROAR, all the way down the aisle.

As you can imagine, the crowd was near tears from laughing so hard

by the time he reached the pulpit.

When asked what he was doing, the child sniffed and said,

"I was being the Ring Bear."

 

Great Job Kalyn!

Late breaking news!  Kalyn headlines the Section III win write up.  Check it out at http://highschoolsports.syracuse.com/news/article/5903977509169772169/liverpool-wins-class-aa-softball-title/  We are so proud of you! 

 

Update for May 2009

To view the photo album from May 2009, click here

The weather was slow to warm in May. Bound and determined to expand my gardening space, we built four more raised beds - this time trying the Square Foot Gardening Method complete with manufactured growing medium and the whole bit. The concept is simple. Condense the amount of space you need to grow things by utilizing every square foot according to the plants growing needs. The raised bed gives the plants a little extra warmth, and we fill the boxes with 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 vermiculite, 1/3 compost. It's a concept we've been experimenting with the last few years, and have decided it's the only way to go with our northern climate and limited space.

I really pushed to have everything planted 'on time' or by Memorial Day. When the big day arrived, there was frost in the forecast so I waited a few more days before sticking the last of the tomatoe and pepper plants in. We had another week of cool days which didn't help anything, but nothing died and they are just standing by waiting for warm air in order to take off. I still have things to plant - basil, celery, yellow squash, beens, pumpkins and the rest of the annual seedlings that I started which I have to say were a collosal dissapointment. A lot of work for a very small return. I guess we are all a little spoiled by the gorgeous plants you can buy from the green house. Probably just do that next year. I am very pleased with the vegetable seedlings and will definately do that again next year. We have plenty of tomatoe and peppers coming, and the potatoes will be a hoot as well.

The kids 'help' when they can. Otherwise they are busy playing in the new sand box Stephen made for them. It is such a joy to watch the two of them play, and what is really nice is that Jordan can play in the sand box without eating the sand (a feat Jacob did not accomplish until he was at least 3). She forgets once in a while and slips in a taste, but nothing like her brother would have done at her age. They play really well together and then she lets me know when she's had enough. The other day she actually crawled to the stroller and started to climb in - as if to say "Ok I'm ready for our walk now".

We've been exploring the great outdoors. We are learning about butterflies, bumble bees and humming birds. This is the first season Jacob really seems to grasp their being there and has an interest in their activity. We have a hummingbird feeder near the butterfly porch and he has become keenly aware of their comings and goings - to the point that he is almost able to recognize them as male or female. Pretty cool! We've been walking to the local beaver flow a couple of times a week. This is fun for Jacob because he can throw rocks in the water. It is fun for mommy, because we can see the brook trout making their way up stream in the water that runs along the roadside. I try to point them out to him, and he says he sees them - but I don't think he sees them. He would much rather I let him run in the water which I have refrained from doing since I saw there are fish in there. We've captured a frog, and a really large ugly black bug and viewed a snake up close. I hate snakes, Stephen hates snakes - and guess what Jake likes snakes. This should get interesting! He is also over his shyness around worms, and now talks to them as if they are pets. Cracks me up!

Jordan is still teetering. She wants to walk and she can walk, but I think her little legs and feet lack the strength and confidence to take care of the rest. She has spurts throughout the day where she takes several steps at a time. Then the rest of the day she makes her way across the floor like the baby on the Simpsons. I'm still fine with it, but Stephen and Mrs. Manning get really anxious about her walking status. So much so, they have Jake saying "Look mommy, she is doing her walking part!" No idea what walking part is, but that's Jake. She is getting so great at expressing herself. She waves and says "bye bye", she says 'haye" to greet us, she points to her belly and says "beye, beye, ..." She says momma, dadda, and a bunch of other things. I think she is much more verbal than Jake at this age. I guess its due to all the talking that goes on around here now vs when he was this age.

We had a great day at the park in Liverpool with Mom, Dad, Michael and Matthew. Jacob was talking about going to "the Syracuse park" again for days and nights, until we went to see THOMAS!!! Thomas the Train was in North Creek and I didn't do a whole lot of prep with him, just in case something prevented us from going or so he wouldn't get distracted from the other things we had going on. Consequently I think he was in awe the entire day and for days after. There was a train ride, and he got meet Sir Topham Hat and they had Thomas trains set up for the kids to play with. He was in heaven! The weather was nice and we all had a great time.

I know we are well into June now. Dad's birthday is Monday and Father's Day follows shortly after. I am so thankful the days have warmed this week - it was actually warm enough to put water in the new water table Jordan got from Patty & Marie for her birthday. They both love it. Jordan thought it was a wadding pool at first, but she has gotten better about that and they both love suttling in the water.

Its supposed to be a beautiful weekend. Stephen is off to work bee at Stony Brook tomorrow, and we are going to meet him in there for a trail side lunch and wild life exploration. Hopefully the bugs won't be too thick. Poor Jordan already looks like she has the measles! Hope everybody has a great month and we'll look forward to checking in with you again in July!