recovery

We arrived back from visiting my family in Ontario this past Tuesday. We had a splendid time playing and enjoying one another's company. Owen came down with a cold, I'm sure he caught it due to a lack of sleep during our trip there. He missed a couple naps and his night sleep was significantly reduced. But, even though he was congested and coughing, he was really fun, and had lots to talk about and laugh about. It was a great time. Sad to leave, of course.

Now we're back in Minneapolis, and we're all slowly recovering. I came down with a cold also, but I'm feeling much better now. Owen has had a bought of the runs and we're waiting for that to clear up soon. Poor kid. He's had it rough the past week. But, we're feeling super lucky to have Ry home all the time right now - he has the month of January off. Since his jobs are connected to his university, he isn't working right now nor is he studying! We'd all been waiting eagerly for this. We got home on Tuesday afternoon, and I've been working yesterday and today, all day. So, I'm ready to hang out with my boys now! We have Lilly tomorrow, so we have a fun-filled, busy day tomorrow.

i'm dreaming . . . of a white christmas . . .

christmas has been an excellent time with friends and family thus far, and the fun isn't nearly done yet! we fly to see my family in a couple of days. we're pumped!

owen got a guitar for christmas, and he's pretty much inseparable from it. as you can tell, he has a natural talent for this kind of thing :)


we've attended some fabulous parties and owen has done really well at all of them. last night was the funniest he's been, though. he was wandering around Faye's house, laughing and squinting his eyes at sandy and betsy. it was hilarious and the first time he'd ever done anything like that. maybe it's his new thang.

new addition

Esme Theresa Lindwall (pronounced EZ-may) has graced our household with her tiny, innocent, beautiful being. Jen totally rocked the birth - she did it in 5 hours, and has been full of energy and spunk since. Ben is a constant support and caretaker to both. They are both so obviously in love with their little Esme. Ry and I feel so honoured to witness first hand, these new fabulous parents.



Ben and Jen had asked me to accompany them and support them through the labour and birth. I of course was honoured and ecstatic to be a part of the phenomenon of childbirth. As I said before, it was all over in 5 hours, much to all of our surprise! Jen was so focused and calm the whole time, and Ben was at her side, loving her up through it all. It was a beautiful time! We arrived at the hospital at 12:30am, Esme greeted the world at 3:23am, and the whole family arrived back at home at 8:30pm that night. Ha!

So this all went down late Thrusday evening, and early Friday morning. I would have had Lillian over to play on Friday, but Erin kept her so I could rest when Owen rested. Ry had classes and tutoring on Friday, which he hesitantly did as he had hardly slept the night before. He was home with Owen, but his mind was racing with curiosity and interest in what might be happening at the hospital.

Ry has been super busy with school these days. He's working on finishing up his courses and prepping for exams. He's working so hard! It'll all be over soon and we can rest, relax and enjoy the holidays together. We are all looking forward to that.

Owen has been acting a little differently since Esme's been around. He's no longer the only cute member of our household. He, of course, still receives much attention but there is now another who gets our "oos" and "aahs". However he is adjusting, and he's getting a little more brave about seeing who this little bundle of sweetness is.

then we played in the snow!

snow and singalongs

we've been hit with tons of snow! it's so beautiful outside now and the cold has suddenly obtained value - the keep the snow on the ground. Owen is intrigued by the new look of the outdoors, and while we were walking in the falling snow, he kept looking up and seemed amused that the snow would rest on him, or else chill his face.

we had a busy, accomplished and enjoyable day yesterday (i love when it can happen like that!). ben and i trekked to social security and i applied for owen's social security number so ry and i can file a tax amendment for owen for last year. then erin, lily, owen and i made our way downtown and had lunch with nain and poppa sam. we then wandered around some of the fun shops down there and brainstormed christmas gift ideas. owen and i arrived back at the house, tired and ready for his nap. he slept beautifully as always and i made tasty pesto-spinach lasagna for supper. Dave Warne and Ry had a show last night, so erin and i got a babysitter together then went out to hear some great music! It was a really fun day.

dave and ry were practicing for their show at our house, and owen woke up from his nap mid-practice. after his diaper change, he walked out of his room, into the living room with his eyes wide and mouth open; i think he was thrilled to have live music coming from his living room. he slowly made his way closer and closer, until he was right beside them. he was holding onto the couch when he started to rock out! he was moving his body back and forth so quickly, his bobbing along to the tunes. when he felt inclined, he belted out some notes too. it was quite hilarious.

i have a nostril!!

it seems i've been having a slight problem with obsessing over things. lately it has been over stories, in whatever form they come to me. it's all i can think about, and my time revolves around finishing the story. i read a near 400 page novel in 2 days. i finished 7 seasons of gilmore girls in . . . hm, i'm not sure = 2 months maybe? okay, that one is shameful. but in all this, so far this hasn't interfered too much with my life. i just could be more productive. perhaps i'll phase out of it. but, so long as there's a good story to be told - i'm all ears!!

owen was eating lunch as normal today, when he put his hand up to his face and his pointer finger caught his nostrel. the look on his face was interest: what is this hole above my mouth that my finger can fit into? it was also curiosity: the hole stays there and i can keep putting my finger in it! and a little confusion: putting my little finger in too far doesn't feel that great and it makes my eyes water. a very amusing new discovery.

owen and i went for a walk and played outside this afternoon. we got out one of his warmer jackets and bundled him for the cold.

peek through the barnyard window

Owen and I played with his farmset today. This isn't an unusual occurrance, but we played with it a bit differently. I was laying on the floor and he noticed me though the haymow window. He was playing infront of it, while I was tapping my fingers on the inside of the window. He thought this was very funny, but his excitement grew when he found he could see my face in his little farmset! He just though this was fantastic. He moved on to opening the doors on the barn so far open that a couple popped off. He didn't intend for this to happen, and he kept trying to put them back on without success. He just kept opening and closing the one that was still intact. He would open it, reach in and touch the floor (he had the barn on its side so it was like opening a box then looking in). Since he enjoyed seeing my face so much in the barn I thought I'd try to relive the experience. He enjoyed this so much, too, especially since he could touch my face this time! We had a fun time doing this over and over again.

He is a very good walker now. He doesn't fall very often, and he really doesn't crawl anymore. He is still so very intentional about the whole thing, it's quite funny. His whole upper body tenses up, and he waddles around with his fists clenched, up by his face, and his shoulders shrugged! It's so cute.

Owen had a dr. appointment yesterday, a little overdue for his 1 yr check-up. He's a healthy little boy, our Doctor said. I didn't have any doubts, but it was good to hear. He apparently has fallen into the 25% for weight and height (used to be 75%) and his head circumference is now in the 75% while it used to be 25%! Interesting. Though his weight and height haven't changed much, I have brought out all his 12-18 month clothes now, as his arms and legs have certainly grown, most particularly his arms. That, and I'm more conscious of keeping him in clothes that cover him up now that is is getting winter-like outside. We took a nice brisk walk this afternoon and he wore his nice little mits and a warm hat. Though it was chilly, he seemed to enjoy it very much.