Swimming, Clapping, and Other Fun Stuff

Jon was home on Monday, so we decided to take Jeremiah to our neighborhood swimming pool for the first time. It was a really nice day, in the mid-80s, so we thought it would be perfect.


Jeremiah thought otherwise. He didn't really cry, but he did make lots of whimpering "I'm not so sure about this" sounds. The water was not nearly as warm as his bath, which he loves to play in, so I can understand why. The pool is a zero entry pool, so we could just walk in with him and gradually go into the water. He liked it much better when Dad was holding him--that way he could be farther out of the water.




Jeremiah also had another "first" yesterday--he started to clap his hands. The way he does it, it almost looks like he's giving himself five, but hey, whatever works.

The other fun stuff going on? Playing in the new toy box that Dad built, going to a park for a few minutes before it started to rain, playing chase down the hall, and for Mom and Dad, consistently sleeping through the night.

Hi Everybody

Jeremiah has a couple of new found skills. The first one is, in my opinion the best one. This week while Aunt Brandee was visiting Jeremiah decided it was time to start waving. So now he likes to wave. It doesn't have to be for anything important, e.g. you're leaving the room. His other skill, that he recently discovered is the volume of a high pitched scream. This one's not so great for us but he loves to do it. Below is a video of him waving, I'm not sure we'll try and capture him screaming. I'm sure you get the idea.

Staying at Home

I went in to Back to the Bible today to show the lady who is in my former position how to do a few things. Sometimes I miss the interaction with the other employees (and just plain adult conversation in general), but overall, I'm so glad that Jon and I made the decision for me to stay home. Yes, the days can get long, especially when Jon is gone. But there's nothing like playing peek-a-boo with your little boy (at 6:30 a.m. no less) to lift your spirits!

Branding

Last week, we headed out to my family’s ranch in western Nebraska for the annual branding. I look forward to the branding every year for several reasons. 1) I get to spend time with my family; 2) I see a lot of neighbors and people I grew up with that I don’t normally get to see; 3) I love that even though some methods have changed over the years, the branding is a part of the heritage of the ranch that’s gone on for a long, long time; 4) there’s lots of good food to eat; 5) there’s lots of good food to eat!

Jon took all of these pictures. He went on the round-up for the second year in a row. I used to do that kind of thing, but now realize that I prefer getting up at 6 a.m. rather than 3:30, my posterior probably wouldn’t handle riding six miles on a horse anymore, and my mom needs my help.

I don’t know that my mom would necessarily say that she looks forward to branding. Maybe that she looks forward to it being over! While the guys have lots of work to do to prepare (move the cattle in to a certain pasture; get the necessary vaccines and medicines ready to use, if necessary; move panels; make sure they have enough help lined up; get the horses ready; gather all the necessary “tools”—knives, buckets, water jugs, branding irons; block off pasture roads so people won’t wander off into the hills; etc.), as well as lots of work that day, my Mom has plenty of her own.

She spends a lot of time cleaning the house and Morton building, getting the yard ready, buying all the food, and then cooking it. The last few years, she’s let my sister-in-law Brandee and I help a lot more, though I know it’s hard for her to let go of something she’s done for so long.

As you can see from the pictures, everyone at the branding (guys and gals) work really hard riding horses, roping calves, wrestling (correctly pronounced “wrastling”), branding, vaccinating, castrating, dehorning, etc. When they get done branding the three bunches of calves, which I think total around 550 or so, they’re hungry. So, my mom has put together quite the feast.

This year we had 25 pounds of seasoned beef, umpteen pounds of new potatoes, enchiladas, meatballs, ham, corn casserole (yum, yum!), baked beans, rolls, fruit salad, pies, apple crisp, and ice cream brownie dessert (triple yum). This is just counting the things that my mom made, with the help of Brandee and myself. Other neighbors and family members brought more salads and desserts. I wish I had a picture to show you, but no one ever takes one of the food line—I guess they’re too busy getting their food before it disappears! We did have food left over, though. Our crowd was slightly smaller than past years—the count came in at right about 100 people.

As I read over what I just wrote, I realized that a person tends to write “what they know.” If my brother was writing this, he would focus more on what was going on at the branding corral. But since I was back at the house with the food, that’s where my mind was!

Picture Day

Since Jeremiah's 9-month birthday is just a couple of days away, we decided to get some pictures taken before we head out west to my parents tomorrow. We went to Portrait Innovations for the second time, and were once again happy with the results. In less than an hour, we had 71 pictures to choose from. And in another half an hour, our pictures were done ready for us to bring home.

This was Jon's first time coming with us to get pictures taken. As I suspected, we ended up ordering more than if I had been by myself. (Don't mention this to anyone, but my husband is kind of a softie--particulary where his son is concerned.) Plus, Jon told me yesterday he wanted to get a family picture taken. Ack! A family picture? I didn't have time to get my hair done, or even trimmed, plus what about getting the perfect color-coordinated outfits? Well, I had to let go of my "planner" tendencies and just go with the flow. That meant we didn't even figure out what we were going to wear until about an hour before we left for the pictures. Spontaniety is good for the soul, right?

Here are just a couple of the shots that we didn't choose. (Notice the precariously hanging shoe in the family photo.) We'll be sending some of the ones we did get printed out to family and friends in the near future.

Books

Anyone who knows me knows that I love books. If I have some free time on my hands, my preferred method of spending it is to curl up with a good book. I consider going to the library a treat. And if I'm really splurging, I'll go to Barnes and Noble, get a drink and dessert and sit and read. Sometimes I've even finished the entire book in the store.

That's why I'm thrilled that Jeremiah really likes books. He loves for us to read to him, and he'll also lay on the floor and look at books on his own. Sometimes they might be upside down, but hey, he's still looking at a book, right?

Some of Jeremiah's favorites right now include Goodnight Moon, The Big Red Barn; Cowboy Small; The Barnyard Dance; Llama, Llama; Red Pajama; Is Your Mama a Llama?; and My Little Word Book. When he really likes a book, he'll lean his whole body up against you, completely relaxed, and just watch each page intently as you read.

I hope this love of books continues for a long, long time. I can't think of a better way for him to learn and grow his imagination.

Adoption Hearing

Today was a day we've been waiting for over 8 months. We had our adoption hearing for Jeremiah today. So it's now official, Jeremiah's adoption is complete. You may notice that Jeremiah is really learning how to pose for the camera. In the last picture we got to take a picture with the judge. Fortunately she had already made her ruling. She didn't seem to mind Jeremiah pulling at her hair.