Saturday, May 25, 2013
anniversary flowers
My cute husband had these flowers delivered to me yesterday. I love them and I love him!
Friday, May 24, 2013
5 years
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I can hardly believe it, but today is our 5th anniversary. I wish we could actually be together today, but there will be plenty of celebrating in a few weeks when I get to France and especially a couple weeks after that when we leave the little one with Grammy and Papy and head to England, just the two of us. I can't wait.
It hasn't always been easy these five years, but I think right now, other than the tiny detail of his being on a different continent, we're in the best place we've been in our marriage. Miss you and love you, Thomas, and I'm counting down the days til we're together!
Monday, May 20, 2013
Thomas's adventures in France
I gave up a long time ago on trying to get Thomas to blog about his trips and conferences on here. However, for this trip, he is actually regularly blogging about his research and experiences. His posts can be found here: http://cohort.utk.edu/. Under the Blog heading, all posts labeled Galen Broeker (the name of the research fellowship he got for the summer) are Thomas's. Alternatively, his profile will list all of his posts: http://cohort.utk.edu/cohort/author/tlecaque/. Hope you enjoy reading about medieval French churches!
Sunday, May 19, 2013
festival day
Just a few pics from the Children's Literature Festival yesterday. Jamie was absolutely in LOVE with all these characters. He freaked out when he saw them -- "Mommy, there's a BEE! I see a alligator!!" -- and he wouldn't stop going back to them for hugs and high fives. So cute. He got to eat popcorn, listen to some really fun songs and stories, and got lots of little freebies. They also had a little parade that Jamie got to walk in. He had a great time and probably would have been happy to stay the whole day.
The Biscuit Festival was also yesterday. Jamie loved that too--trying a whole bunch of different biscuits is definitely his idea of a good time. I didn't get any pictures, though, because juggling our rain coats, water bottles, plates, and keeping Jamie from running off in the crowd kept my hands a little too full. My favorite biscuit this year was Tupelo Honey Cafe's pimento cheese biscuit.
We went on a walk in the afternoon, and Jamie FELL ASLEEP in the stroller. I was flabbergasted. I don't think he's done that in nearly 2 years. He was so confused when we got home and I woke him up. I set him up on the couch with some books while I made dinner because he was clearly still a little groggy.
Cutest thing ever.
We went on a walk in the afternoon, and Jamie FELL ASLEEP in the stroller. I was flabbergasted. I don't think he's done that in nearly 2 years. He was so confused when we got home and I woke him up. I set him up on the couch with some books while I made dinner because he was clearly still a little groggy.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
hello summer, good bye Daddy
Last week Thomas was gone for 4 days at a conference in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He was home Sunday and Monday and then left again on Tuesday for France, where he'll be through the end of July. Happily, Jamie and I will be joining him (and his parents and extended family) for a month starting in mid-June, but we've still got 26 days to go...
We made the most of those last two days. Thomas and Jamie made sure I had a nice Mother's Day. They surprised me with a yummy breakfast, flowers, cards, and made me a very tasty cake. You can tell Jamie had a hand in the decorating.
Jamie also enjoyed eating the cake.
Then on Monday night, Thomas and I went out to dinner and The Great Gatsby (I thought Leonardo DiCaprio did a great job and I was surprised at how closely most of the scenes and dialogue corresponded with the book, but I hated the psychiatrist framing device and thought the whole thing came off a little too much like Moulin Rouge). We had a wonderful night, though it was a little bittersweet knowing it was our last night together for so long. Finally, Jamie and Thomas went to the zoo together one last time on Tuesday morning before we drove him to the airport.
And now it's just the two of us. It's hard for me to figure out how to tackle this much time alone. Whenever Thomas has gone on shorter trips, I've tried to make every day he's gone special and fun so that both Jamie and I will have something to look forward to and something to help pass the time before he's back. We go out for ice cream or to the zoo or bake cookies. And we'll do our fair share of those kinds of things this time too, but we can't really sustain that for this whole trip. This isn't just a few days or a week, it's our whole summer. I feel like we have to settle in to a new normal and it may take a while to find our new equilibrium.
Two things making it extra hard: I can no longer count on Jamie to nap--and frankly, it's almost better when he doesn't, as a solid nap leads to his taking hours to fall asleep at night, but man does that make for a long day--and I have no one to kill stinkbugs for me. The latter is very seriously my number 1 concern about being alone so long.
Oh, and on an unrelated note: A few weeks back, we got family pictures taken by my very talented friend Brianna. It was our first time getting professional family pictures since Jamie's newborn shoot, so it was about time! I LOVE how they turned out! If you haven't seen them on facebook, you can check them out here.
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| We are counting down. |
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| Please note that it says "Happy Moter's Day." Still delicious. |
Then on Monday night, Thomas and I went out to dinner and The Great Gatsby (I thought Leonardo DiCaprio did a great job and I was surprised at how closely most of the scenes and dialogue corresponded with the book, but I hated the psychiatrist framing device and thought the whole thing came off a little too much like Moulin Rouge). We had a wonderful night, though it was a little bittersweet knowing it was our last night together for so long. Finally, Jamie and Thomas went to the zoo together one last time on Tuesday morning before we drove him to the airport.
And now it's just the two of us. It's hard for me to figure out how to tackle this much time alone. Whenever Thomas has gone on shorter trips, I've tried to make every day he's gone special and fun so that both Jamie and I will have something to look forward to and something to help pass the time before he's back. We go out for ice cream or to the zoo or bake cookies. And we'll do our fair share of those kinds of things this time too, but we can't really sustain that for this whole trip. This isn't just a few days or a week, it's our whole summer. I feel like we have to settle in to a new normal and it may take a while to find our new equilibrium.
Two things making it extra hard: I can no longer count on Jamie to nap--and frankly, it's almost better when he doesn't, as a solid nap leads to his taking hours to fall asleep at night, but man does that make for a long day--and I have no one to kill stinkbugs for me. The latter is very seriously my number 1 concern about being alone so long.
Oh, and on an unrelated note: A few weeks back, we got family pictures taken by my very talented friend Brianna. It was our first time getting professional family pictures since Jamie's newborn shoot, so it was about time! I LOVE how they turned out! If you haven't seen them on facebook, you can check them out here.
Friday, May 3, 2013
Jamie lately
Jamie has been singing along to CDs in the car for a while and I love it. He can't carry a tune at all, but it's so cute. Recently he's started changing some of the words. He particularly likes to do this with "Skinnamarinky-dinky-dink," as in, "I love you in the dumpster and in the after-truck. I love you in the flip-flop and underneath the pine cone!" We both find it hilarious.
One day during naptime I heard him say over the monitor that he needed to go potty. I found this questionable since he had just gone, but I went in and we had this conversation:
Me: Did I hear you say you need to go potty?
Jamie: Peter said he needs to go potty.
Me: Oh.... Well, please try not to talk because it's supposed to be quiet time.
Jamie: I was helping Peter talk. (said as though this was the most reasonable excuse ever)
One morning when I went to get him out of bed, he had stuffed Peter Rabbit and one of his pacis in his pajama top and announced to me, "I have a uterus!"
Jamie has really been loving acting out stories. He wants to do it over and over and over and over. Favorites to act out include Frog and Toad, Corduroy, a book from when I was little called Old Black Witch, and various parts of Richard Scarry's Busytown (the real title of which is What do People Do All Day? but we've never once called it that). He also did an amazing job of being the Lorax. I think he has that whole book memorized...along with many, many others!
Jamie is OBSESSED with playing doctor with his stuffed animals. But we have to play it with him. His doctor bear is the doctor and the rest of the animals are patients and Every. Single. One. has swallowed a puzzle piece (à la Curious George) or alternatively a rotten peanut (since he's been hearing the song "Found a Peanut") and is in need of an operation. I cannot express how tired I am of this game.
A bedtime story told to us by Jamie, all on his own:
Once upon a time there was a little bunny and his name was Peter Rabbit and he lived in a house with his mother and his daddy and there were skunks all over their home. And they sniffed the skunks and the skunks said, "Go away!" and they were robber skunks. And the lord of the horses came. And the pumpkins came and the dragons came and the vampires came. And some bears came and bit the vampires and they were robber vampires. Here's a picture of the 3 vampires and here's a picture of the dragon. And the lord of the horses came to get everything. And this is Mrs. Rabbit and she is sewing for Peter Rabbit. And she said to Peter and the vampire, "Why do you do everything?!" That's what she said to the vampire and Peter. And she did it again and again and again and again and again and again and I'm going to read it again Mommy and Daddy!
I was able to start scribbling it down after a couple sentences. I wish so badly that I'd had the camera and could have gotten this on video, but it was just too spontaneous. He did indeed tell it again, but the skunks morphed into raccoons in the retelling.
About a week ago, I was washing dishes when, entirely unbeknownst to me, Jamie came in the kitchen, pulled a box of Kosher salt off the counter, and opened it. I had my back to him and he was being so quiet I couldn't hear him over the running water. Suddenly I heard Thomas exclaiming behind me, turned around, and found Jamie standing next to a huge pile of salt. He had probably dumped out half the box. Little did we know that was just a warm-up... On Wednesday evening, I was rushing to get dinner ready while Thomas brought in groceries and put them away. He had left some of the bags right inside the door, and while we were in the kitchen, Jamie got into them and discovered a bag of flour, which he proceeded to open...and he COMPLETELY emptied it onto the living room floor. We discovered it when he scampered into the kitchen, positively beaming and exclaiming, "I made a mess!" Oh my word.
And also in the troublemaking vein...Earlier, I needed to go to the bathroom. When I came out, I found Jamie sitting on the table plucking petals off the flowers (thankfully they were getting old anyway). He is very well aware that he is not supposed to climb up there, but the stinker insisted he just wanted to smell the flowers...
He's gotten very good at building with his Legos recently. I swear, Legos are the best toy ever. He got his Duplos for Christmas when he was 18 months. He loved them then, he loves them still, and he plays with them nearly every day. A couple days ago when I was making lunch, he ran in and told me to come see what he had made. He had built this entirely on his own (it is a boat for Captain Salty, aka Peter Rabbit).
Jamie recently named his stuffed hippo "Hippo Conversation." We find this disproportionately hilarious. Yesterday we were trying to come up with a name for his sock monkey. His suggestions included Monkey Conversation, Au revoir, Koala, and laughter (the sound of it, not the word). We never settled on any of them, though, which is probably for the best.
And just being cute this morning:
One day during naptime I heard him say over the monitor that he needed to go potty. I found this questionable since he had just gone, but I went in and we had this conversation:
Me: Did I hear you say you need to go potty?
Jamie: Peter said he needs to go potty.
Me: Oh.... Well, please try not to talk because it's supposed to be quiet time.
Jamie: I was helping Peter talk. (said as though this was the most reasonable excuse ever)
One morning when I went to get him out of bed, he had stuffed Peter Rabbit and one of his pacis in his pajama top and announced to me, "I have a uterus!"
Jamie has really been loving acting out stories. He wants to do it over and over and over and over. Favorites to act out include Frog and Toad, Corduroy, a book from when I was little called Old Black Witch, and various parts of Richard Scarry's Busytown (the real title of which is What do People Do All Day? but we've never once called it that). He also did an amazing job of being the Lorax. I think he has that whole book memorized...along with many, many others!
Jamie is OBSESSED with playing doctor with his stuffed animals. But we have to play it with him. His doctor bear is the doctor and the rest of the animals are patients and Every. Single. One. has swallowed a puzzle piece (à la Curious George) or alternatively a rotten peanut (since he's been hearing the song "Found a Peanut") and is in need of an operation. I cannot express how tired I am of this game.
A bedtime story told to us by Jamie, all on his own:
Once upon a time there was a little bunny and his name was Peter Rabbit and he lived in a house with his mother and his daddy and there were skunks all over their home. And they sniffed the skunks and the skunks said, "Go away!" and they were robber skunks. And the lord of the horses came. And the pumpkins came and the dragons came and the vampires came. And some bears came and bit the vampires and they were robber vampires. Here's a picture of the 3 vampires and here's a picture of the dragon. And the lord of the horses came to get everything. And this is Mrs. Rabbit and she is sewing for Peter Rabbit. And she said to Peter and the vampire, "Why do you do everything?!" That's what she said to the vampire and Peter. And she did it again and again and again and again and again and again and I'm going to read it again Mommy and Daddy!
I was able to start scribbling it down after a couple sentences. I wish so badly that I'd had the camera and could have gotten this on video, but it was just too spontaneous. He did indeed tell it again, but the skunks morphed into raccoons in the retelling.
About a week ago, I was washing dishes when, entirely unbeknownst to me, Jamie came in the kitchen, pulled a box of Kosher salt off the counter, and opened it. I had my back to him and he was being so quiet I couldn't hear him over the running water. Suddenly I heard Thomas exclaiming behind me, turned around, and found Jamie standing next to a huge pile of salt. He had probably dumped out half the box. Little did we know that was just a warm-up... On Wednesday evening, I was rushing to get dinner ready while Thomas brought in groceries and put them away. He had left some of the bags right inside the door, and while we were in the kitchen, Jamie got into them and discovered a bag of flour, which he proceeded to open...and he COMPLETELY emptied it onto the living room floor. We discovered it when he scampered into the kitchen, positively beaming and exclaiming, "I made a mess!" Oh my word.
And also in the troublemaking vein...Earlier, I needed to go to the bathroom. When I came out, I found Jamie sitting on the table plucking petals off the flowers (thankfully they were getting old anyway). He is very well aware that he is not supposed to climb up there, but the stinker insisted he just wanted to smell the flowers...
He's gotten very good at building with his Legos recently. I swear, Legos are the best toy ever. He got his Duplos for Christmas when he was 18 months. He loved them then, he loves them still, and he plays with them nearly every day. A couple days ago when I was making lunch, he ran in and told me to come see what he had made. He had built this entirely on his own (it is a boat for Captain Salty, aka Peter Rabbit).
Jamie recently named his stuffed hippo "Hippo Conversation." We find this disproportionately hilarious. Yesterday we were trying to come up with a name for his sock monkey. His suggestions included Monkey Conversation, Au revoir, Koala, and laughter (the sound of it, not the word). We never settled on any of them, though, which is probably for the best.
And just being cute this morning:
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| firemen need a good breakfast |
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| Pajama top, Grover underpants, backwards fire helmet, and an apron...perfect outfit for baking, right?? |
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