Feet

It's hard to believe these two feet are almost two years old now.

And possibly even harder to believe that there are two more tiny, pruny feet about to touch the Earth.

And, very hard to believe that these four feet have already left SO many footprints on our hearts...

JEB

Fact v Opinion

Fact: Celia loves Grandma Jan.
Opinion: Here, they look a bit like twins, simply separated by time.
Fact: This Japanese website generates a neat vintage photo. And it's free.
Opinion: It may be possible for Celia to look too cherubic, too angelic.

JEB

And the Oscar Goes to...

"Every girl deserves an up-do on Oscar night..."
These are the words I heard Andy utter as he came down the steps with Celia this evening, post-bath. And this is what I saw. How precious.
He even left some ringlet tendrils loose at the bottom. Just another perk of being married to a male nurse...
He totally deserves an award. Maybe not so much for hair and makeup, but for lots and lots of other things.
JEB

Canine Nanny

At my feet. Always. For some reason, Colby seems to think his proximity is necessary in the gestation process. He follows me from room to room, and is never more than mere inches away. He's a good boy.

We were wondering how in the world we were going to handle caring for both Celia and the new baby, but Colby has offered to pick up some of the slack...
Currently he’s working on discarding soiled diapers. It’d be awesome if he’d figure that out. It’d also mean that you might want to avoid his lavish kisses next time you visit.
Pretty good progress for a dog to go from this, a couple of years ago:
To this:
JEB

OhIowa

Cory and Bridget are home safely in Iowa now, and we already miss them.
There are lots of things that make it easy to glue us all together in a friend collage... dates at Spagio, nights out in Vegas, Diet Mountain Dew and Helluva Good chip dip, walks on the beach on Anna Maria Island, baby girls born the first week of March... Last week only added pieces to paste on an enlarged canvas.The week flew by -- We took the girls to the zoo, enjoyed an adult dinner out at Spagio, stayed in our jammies till lunchtime and took turns checking for holes in our eyelids... The dads spent an evening sipping beer at Barley's and the moms spent an afternoon getting pedicures... Celia and Ellie shared toys and watched Word World together. And it's true, they are both Sweet as Candy!
JEB

Due

This baby is due soon.
I know that, but have been reminded in several subtle ways lately.
Our most recently purchased gallon of milk has an expiration date of 3.3.
And the book I just borrowed from the library is meant to be returned by 3.3.
And my stomach doesn't feel as though it can stretch much more...

Although the infant carseat isn't yet installed, I trust that it will be soon.
And otherwise, my freshly painted toenails and I are ready.
JEB

Laptime Naptime

(Shared by Grandma Rosie & Grandma Jan)

xoxo

People say it all the time, how they'd give up anything for someone they love.
In the accounting scheme of a parent's heart, a child's life is worth everything.
Hers certainly is.

Her smiles made our hearts sing.
Her snuggles make our hearts swell.
Her laughter made our hearts leap.
Her kisses make our hearts melt.

Our hearts are full. And we would give anything.

February 2008

February 2009

JEB

Expecting

We're expecting a few things...

The baby, of course. But we're hoping Shim (Aunt Kate's recent nickname for she/him) waits a little longer (at least till Aunt Kate gets home from Cali at the end of the month).

And good friends. Cory and Bridget and Ellie should arrive from Iowa later today. We have lots of fun planned for the week with them. And perhaps we'll take a little Betz blog hi8us, while they're here. But blog documentation of their time here will be forthcoming, for sure.

And miracles. Big ones, small ones. We'll take what we can get.
JEB

Temporary Custody

It's true, all parents really only have temporary custody of their children. It's just that we've learned ours may end earlier than most.
Celia is 23 months old today. The days of counting days and weeks and months were long over. You know, in the beginning when someone asked how old she was, we could respond without a moment to calculate: "She's two months, three weeks, one day, 47 minutes..."
Now, we might say, if asked, "Oh, she's almost two." But the days and weeks and months matter more again. And our tendency to count every minute is not temporary anymore. Because our time with her is.
So today we celebrate 23 months. (And the fact that she can wear her hair in a ponytail!) And tomorrow, we'll celebrate 23 months and one day. And when our custodial period runs out, we know Who will assume custody and there's some comfort in knowing that...

JEB

Real

When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real. It doesn’t happen all at once. You become. It takes a long time. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby.
Margery Williams – The Velveteen Rabbit

We may not have a long, long time. But by all means, Andy is a real Daddy. I'm not saying his hair has been loved off, or he's very shabby. And I'm not saying it happened all at once. But it happened.

Yesterday, on Andy's birthday, he and Celia shared cookies for breakfast, and snuggled on the couch, alternating between the History Channel and Noggin. They dole out lots of Daddy-daughter love, every day. For real.

JEB

Messmaker

[photo credit: Grandpa Rod]

(as sung to tune of Matchmaker from Fiddler on the Roof by Grandma Rosie)

Messmaker, messmaker, make me a mess
You do it well, I must confess
You can get cereal everywhere,
Especially in your hair!

Well, now you know where Celia was while her parents and Colby were out buttsledding! Funny how the words to songs you haven’t sung in twenty-some years come right back to grandparents – a few genuine lyrics as well as those you made up for fun. I frequently sang the above version of Matchmaker to Jenni and Kate when they were little, and the first verse came back into my head this weekend while Celia was enjoying oatmeal and peaches for breakfast. (I trace her affinity for peaches back to my father, who always welcomed peaches in any form, but most especially in ice cream.) Celia never fails to make that “Mmmm – mmm” good sound that lets you know she’s enjoying a meal. Of course, messmaking eventually led to bathtime last Saturday night… and you already know how much she loves splashing and bubbles and water. After bathtime, Celia got to rub on some of my special lavender chamomile lotion… which led, not surprisingly, to a mostly made-up rendition of "Lavender’s blue, silly Celie, lavender’s green… "
G'Ro