Keep Off Grass

A few days ago, I introduced Staley to the pokey, prickly, green ground covering that no longer resides in our yard at home.  She started out unsure about the whole grass experience and, after tipping over so her whole body touched the grass, her "I'm-unsure-about-grass" phase quickly escalated into "grass-is-traumatic."  But since her parents love the outdoors and grass is unavoidable when you're outdoors, we're going to keep trying.  In a few weeks, my goal is to have a blog post entitled "Grass Is Awesome."  Or at least "Grass No Longer Makes Me Cry."

"I'm not so sure about this."

"Now I'm sure...that I don't like it!"

Getting Closer...

The finish line for our basement project is in sight.  All the walls (except for the hole in the back to pour concrete) are completed, the basement floor has been poured, and the trenches along the east and west sides of the house have been backfilled.  We are still waiting for our new sewer line, so Zach's parents are stuck with us for a little longer, but the end is near.

The back wall

The floor is done!  Looks like a true basement now, doesn't it?

Our poor, poor yard.

The Teething Fairy

Everyone loves the Tooth Fairy.  The cute, spritely little fairy that flits in silently in the night to leave a quater (or at least that was the going rate in my day) for a quietly sleeping child.  What could be better?  However, we've recently met the Tooth Fairy's evil twin.  The Teething Fairy is not so cute and spritely and there is definitely no silent flitting in the night.  Nope, the Teething Fairy doesn't bring quarters.  She brings drool.  Lots and lots of drool that pools on the chins of unsuspecting infants, drips onto the clothing of these infants, transfers to the hands of these sweet babies, and is subsequently wiped on tables, toys, and the faces of loving parents that get too close.  The Teething Fairy does not come when things are falling out of children's mouths...she joins the party when EVERYTHING goes into children's mouths.  And I do mean EVERYTHING...hands, toys, books, blankets, clothes, carseat straps, toes, napkins (when I set one too close), rugs,... The best part of the Tooth Fairy was that she was so quiet and spry that she could get in and out of a bedroom without causing the child to stir.  And the worst part of the Teething Fairy is that she tromps into the bedroom loudly, shaking the crib and yelling until the poor infant has no choice but to wake up (oh so sadly) from her much needed sleep that comes during nap time and bed time.  And what can a parent do at 3 a.m. but pat, console, and feed the sad infant back into slumber-land, hoping against hope that the Teething Fairy has had her fun and will not return...at least for another few nights.

Mobility...sort of

We are STILL not home yet.  (Four and half weeks and counting.)  We are currently staying with Zach's parents again.  Staley's cousin, Cade, is also staying with Zach's parents this week as he is attending a day camp in Eureka.  Staley has been having lots of fun playing with Cade, and seeing her active older cousin must be motivating her to explore a little more. Last night, Staley rolled herself all the way across the living room floor.  We don't have to go out and buy baby gates quite yet...it took her about half an hour to complete her 8 foot trek.  Apparently in the exciting world of the living room, it was hard to stay focused on the goal of reaching cousin Cade's walkie-talkie.  Staley would roll, play with her feet, look around, chew on her hands, roll, scratch at the carpet, look around, chew on her hands, roll...  She wasn't setting any land speed records, but this was her first true attempt at mobility...and all things considered, it was successful.

The starting line:  a super-cool fort that Cade made for Staley

Distracted by how much fun feet can be.

"Look how far I've come!"

And after all that hard rolling, Staley was rewarded by story time with cousin Cade.

Cousins

Over Father's Day week-end, Staley got to spend time with all of her cousins.

Staley, Elliott, and Liam

Staley holding hands with Liam

My big Staley with new cousin, Lila

(Can you tell which girl will have to worry more about sunscreen?)

Cade, Olivia, Staley, and Lila

Happy Father's Day

The great thing about dads...

They always have time to play.

They help you learn new skills.

They teach you to love what they love.

They let you try out their 'toys'.

They love you unconditionally.

And they will do anything to make you happy.

I know a lot about great dads.  I have one.  From reading books (with all the fun voices) and singing silly songs before bedtime... to teaching me to shoot baskets and going running with me... to driving hours for college track meets and writing me funny letters while I was working at summer camps... to walking me down the aisle and dancing with me at my wedding... to calling me regularly and taking me out to lunch during the work day... to dropping everything to come over and comfort me after a failed IVF attempt... to now sharing his constant love and affection with his new granddaughter, my dad has always been there for me.  I have always had high, high expectations for the father of my children because of the loving, attentive, devoted father that I grew up with.  And Zach has lived up to those expectations without fail.  Which is not surprising since Zach has a great example of what a father should be from his own dad, who is the most selfless, hard-working man I know.  Mark would do anything for his children and grandchildren...the love he has for them is so evident in everything he does.  I hope one day Staley realizes that not everyone has a great dad, and that she knows just how lucky she is to have the best dad in the world.  I know I have!

Eye Don't Know

Over the past month or so, Staley's eyes have been changing color.  She no longer has those bright baby blues, but we can't figure out what color they will end up being.  I have brown eyes and Zach has green eyes.  Right now her eyes have a sort of greenish, blueish, brownish tone.  (Easy to picture now, right?)  I'm hoping she ends up with green eyes like her father.  Not to diss my fellow brown-eyed girls (and guys), but I've always felt that my brown hair (at least that's what I think my natural color is) and brown eyes combination is a little bland.  I've always thought green eyes were more unique (or as unique as you can get with about 4 eye colors to choose from).  And since the consensus among the masses is that Staley looks a lot like me, I know that Zach would like her to have something that can be labeled as distinctly from him.  Our doctor said that eye color should be established by around 6 months, so give us a little more time and we'll let you know how this mystery turns out.