New Favorite Author!

I just had to share this with you bloggers. Somehow I stumbled across a list on some blog that gave a list of 1000 books you must read before you die. At the top of the list was Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. Never heard of the guy but I thought what the heck. I went to the library and checked it out that day. Well, I LOVED it. I have since also read his The Remains of The Day. Wow! I have never read a book where the subject is so utterly unremarkable but I was still engrossed until the very last page. For example, The Remains of The Day is about an English butler - a topic that I found very uninteresting but once I began reading I was captivated. The book was void of any sensationalistic or dramatic events and free from flowery descriptions or romantic imagery, so I can't quite put my finger on how the author managed to hook me so well. I think Ishiguro could write about a trip to the grocery store and it would be a page turner.

Ishiguro's writing reminds me of our friend Gunz, who can tell a story like no one else I know. I think Gunz could tell a story about any part of his day and it would be fascinating. He's the kind of storyteller that you just want to kick back with a cup of cocoa and listen to. Hmmm..maybe you should be a writer Gunz. Anyway, I am going back to the library tomorrow to check out another book by Ishiguro. Hopefully, it will follow suit.



For those bloggers who don't care about my Reading Rainbow book review and just came here to see pictures of the kiddo, I threw on a picture of Vin chasing the cat.

Vin Crawling!!

Yes, he FINALLY did it! We've been working with him quite a bit since his first physical therapy session a week ago. And then last night he just started crawling!! He didn't do it much today because as you will see from the video he doesn't like it. In fact, I think he hates it but we are so very encouraged to see that he can. The first part of the video he is doing his normal army crawl but acting so silly we included it. We are going to keep working with him and I hope he realizes the freedom that crawling can bring him and starts to do it more often.

His new squeal

I had to share this video which captures Vin's new and improved high pitch squeal. This one will make your ears ring and your head hurt. So glad he discovered it.

Making small steps...

Today he finally started walking with his walker!!

Befriending the Cat

The start of trouble



This is right before she swatted at him



And this is right after he grabbed her

Our 10th Anniversary!

Are those wrinkles I see on those smiling faces???


It started snowing so we felt inspired to snap a few of the courtyard.

Ja and I celebrated our 10th on Thursday. We had the entire day and evening to ourselves (our good friend Amy watched Vin for us). We renewed our vows in the morning with a very casual but meaningful ceremony with our pastor. Then it was off to the art museum - how nice to really savor the pieces without having to attend to the child. After dinner we caught a movie and then went to a local cigar pub to enjoy a cigar and a drink. It truly was the perfect day! Our day of romance however, ended with the worst migraine attack I've had to date. It started shortly after we got home and lasted through Saturday. Fortunately, Jason stayed home from work on Friday to take care of Vin and helped me however he could. I just can't imagine how I would have done it without him. Now that's love!

Lord of the Rings: Sweded! Part 2 of 2

PART 2!!!

Lord of the Rings: Sweded! Part 1 of 2

This is a spoof on Lord of the Rings. Autumn's husband co-wrote it and played Gandalf and Aragon. Enjoy! Part 2 to be posted shortly.

Trip to the Zoo

I just had to share these pictures. On Monday we went to the zoo with Amy and her little boy Isaac. It was so nice to get out and enjoy the warm weather!

As you can see in the pictures one of the sea lions was showing off for the boys. He came right up to the glass and started blowing bubbles. It was so cute!

11 Months!

Vin turned 11 months yesterday! Everyday it seems he is leaving behind some of his babyness and moving towards into toddlerhood or woddlerhood (depends on which cheesy parent term you want to use). Here's some updates on the little dude:

- Now completely weaned from breast milk!

- Done with bottles and pacis. Both have been packed away. Has mastered drinking out of his sippy cup but will only drink out of it if it contains milk. He drinks water out of a regular cup which can be messy at times.

-Started mimicking our inflections when "talking" to us. Says "hi". Sometimes he says it well and other times it's just a grunt in response to us saying "hi".

-Has begun signing for "more" during play times or when getting tickles.

-Waves hello and goodbye when he feels like it. In the mall on Monday he was waving at passersby and saying "hi" at the same time. Something I can't get him to do at home.

-Has also begun pointing at people which is kind of embarrassing. Especially, when the person doesn't like babies and he thrusts his little chubby fingers in their face.

-It seems we have left the tantrums and high pitched screams of protest behind for a bit. I'm sure they will come back around. Looking forward to their re-emergence.

-Yes, we are still cloth diapering and I have to say I don't see any signs of us giving it up. We just battled some severe diaper rash issues (our first real issue with diaper rash). Turns out our diapers had a detergent buildup and we are now back on track. In fact, yesterday I even made my own cloth diaper insert. The transformation to domestic housewife is complete.

-Just wrapped up his fourth ear infection and second respiratory sickness. We are still on asthma alert since it seems every time he gets a cold it ends up causing moderate to serious breathing difficulties. In fact, new years eve we were in the doctors office for quite awhile getting a breathing treatment and a steroid shot since his air passageways were pretty constricted. We didn't see much improvement until the steroid shot. About 20 min after the shot he was like a different baby. Poor guy.

-Mobility: Well, Vin still isn't crawling, able to get into a sitting position on his own, or cruising on furniture. About a month ago his pediatrician recommended we contact the Alliance for Infants and Toddlers to have him evaluated for possible muscle tone issues. We had our first assessment in early December and just had his full blown assessment on 1/4. The full blown assessment was 2 1/2 hours and involved a physical therapist, a developmentalist, and case worker from the Alliance. I won't get into the technical details but they did find muscle tone and joint flexibility issues. Basically, these two things combined are making it extremely difficult for Vin to do the things he should be able to do at this age. And without intervention it would have been a very long time before he crawled. Even with intervention he probably won't be able to crawl for another few months and walking will probably be delayed as well. Sigh.

The good news is that his gross motor skills are delayed enough that he does qualify for Early Intervention Services. So we will begin aggressive physical therapy. He qualifies for physical therapy for at least a year and at that point they will reassess where he is to see if he's fully caught up. Of course, Ja and I were curious as to the cause of the issues and at this point the PT believes it's just something he was born with. However, if he does not respond to the physical therapy than other causes will be explored.

Amazingly, we've begun to see a fire emerge in Vin. Before he would just give up when he tried to do something he couldn't. Now he presses on and even though he gets frustrated. I think he fell on his face three times yesterday but he just kept trying. We are so excited that we will now be able to better help him in his efforts and can't wait to see him start to experience some feeling of success. Push on little guy! Push on! This brings to mind a lyric from Jason's favorite band, Stavesacre: "Pushing on, stronger everyday. Leaning into the wind that used to carry me." Hmmm...I just don't know why that band broke up. (Sorry for the Stavesacre jab, baby. they used to be good band)