Thursday, August 30, 2007

TGIF randomness....

Here's a photo I took a while ago that our famous friend Bobbi did some of her sweet color processing for us. She's so awesome, every once in a while she'll snag a photo from my blog and give it some "Bobbi Love." In the original I took you couldn't see the blue in his eyes at all, so Bobbi really made them pop. It's a really fun little surprise. Thanks Bobbi!

No new photos this week as we don't have our camera, but we have been taking some video. Video is just such a HUGE pain to edit becuase it's a million years long of mundane with a few great clips scattered throughout. We do have some fun clips of Miles in his jumper and I captured him laughing hysterically a couple nights ago. I'm not sure you'll see these anytime soon on the blog as John is swamped with a ton of projects and no time to get on his computer. (That's a good thing, but just hard to fit in our own fun stuff.)

Things are going well here for us. Miles has been going to sleep at a new time, 7 PM and I couldn't be happier. I thought it was just a fluke from when he got vaccinated, but it has stuck. So that's been good, though I still stay up SUPER late playing when I should be in bed.

New subject:

A week or so ago, I read in the news about a young man named Miles Levin. He got cancer at the age of 16 and kept a blog. He wrote so well that his blog became very famous and people all over the world started to read it. He passed away last week at the age of 18 and the world has lost a very beautiful person. I have started to read his journal and his writing is so expressive and descriptive that it brings me back to the "cancer world" I once lived in instantly.

Cancer ages you. It definitly adds years to your skin, robs you of your hair and of course puts years of wear and tear on your body. However, it also puts years on your soul. The people I have known that have had cancer became so wise beyond their years. It's like they have just been granted an endless amount of grace and perspective. There is nothing more humbleing to see someone sit in a hospital bed, a mere shadow of themselves, and look at you with complete peace and wisdom and know with 100% certianity what is really important in this world. It's really an amazing thing. When I think about it, it's not just cancer that does this. I'm sure my friend Lindsay, who is in the hospital working hard to keep her baby alive and growing, knows a new understanding of what is truly important in this world. Once you get back into regular life though, us "mere mortals" lose that sense of perspective pretty quickly. I always appreciate being reminded of how fragile and precious our time here really is.

So I have been reading that through the writings of Miles Levin. Of course, it sure does a number on my brain to have gone through cancer with Andy and to remember that through his writings and then on top of that, to hear my son's name referred to in this instance is quite jarring. It's worth it though, because this young man was amazing. It's such a cliche to say that cancer seems to take the best, but if you ask Dr. Rushing, Andy's oncologist, he'll agree and tell you that his patients are some of the most amazing people he has known.

I could go on forever talking about the courage of people with cancer, but I want to share with you an excerpt from Miles' blog and what will probably soon be a book or a movie as I have heard his family has had many offers.

This excerpt is from one of the early entries from Miles' journal, sorry, I don't have the date it was written. Remember though that he was only 16 or 17 when he wrote it, which amazes me.

"I went to the driving range the other day and I was thinking...

I was thinking how you start out with a big bucket full of golf balls, and you just start hitting away carelessly. You have dozens of them, each individual ball means nothing so you just hit, hit, hit. One ball gone is practically inconsequential when subtracted from your bottomless bucket. There are no practice swings or technique re-evaluations after a bad shot, because so many more tries remain. Yet eventually you start to have to reach down towards the bottom of the bucket to scavenge for another shot and you realize that tries are running out. Now with just a handful left, each swing becomes more meaningful. The right technique becomes more crucial, so between each shot you take a couple practice swings and a few deep breaths. There is a very strong need to end on a good note, even if every preceeding shot was horrible, getting it right at the end means a lot. You know as you tee up your last ball, "This is my final shot, I want to crush this with perfection; I must make this count." Limited quantities or limited time brings a new, precious value and signficance to anything you do. Live every day shooting as if its your last shot, I know I have to.

I found out today 5 year survival rates are just 20%."

If you would like to read more of Miles' journal, go to www.carepages.com and enter "levinstory." Hopefully this little clip will give you fresh insight on life as we enter a long weekend to spend with our family.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Prayers for baby Hackett


Hi blog readers. We need your prayers for our friend Lindsay and Zac. Lindsay's water broke at 18 weeks into her pregnancy and she has been hospitalized on bedrest ever since. Lindsay and her baby have beat some pretty grave odds and Lindsay has been hospitalized for SIX WEEKS and will continue to be until the baby can be born.

Can you imagine? The evening her water broke she went into the hospital and she hasn't gotten to leave the property, and really her bed ever since. She wasn't even online for the first month and a half or so (I would have surely lost my mind) but the hospital has now given her a computer and she is back online! Yippee, she has a little window into the outside world again.

So check out her blog and please send some encouragement and prayers as well. Lindsay's blog

(BTW, the photos above were done by our friend Bobbi, who I met at Zac and Lindsay's wedding.)

Lindsay is a blog reader, so I'm going to send a shout out to little miss Lindsay, baby Hackett and of course her hubby Zac who is probably nested into the oh so comfy hospital couch. Hugs to you!

Monday, August 27, 2007

photo shoot...

I had a coupon to try out a portrait studio and considering I had never taken Miles before, I figured I would try it out. I had tried this particular studio in the past with my family and based on that experience I was kind of annoyed with their usage of film and not so great lighting, however, I liked how simple their style was. I figured for a free 8 by 10, I would see what I was missing out on by not being in the photo club that people usually sign up for when they have a baby. Plus, they enter one of the photos in a contest to be the next "Yo Baby" baby yogurt model. (Yea right....) What the heck, we had a free morning!

Here are some proofs from our morning.







I almost canceled the appt. because Miles woke up with a couple of scratches on his face from a snaggle nail, but I figured boys will be boys and let the camera capture him the way he is.

I think there are some really cute shots and I set myself up ahead of time for the heartbreak that would happen when they bring out all sorts of 8 by 10's and collages to just be thrown away when I didn't purchase them all. I'm sure they were pretty disgusted when I didn't buy their $500 package, but hey, I just can't justify spending the money when we take so many photos on our own. I did get a few photos though. How could I resist? We are saving our money for this fall when our friend Bobbi will be taking some family shots of us though. In the mean time, here are some (illegally posted, hence the water mark) proofs for your viewing pleasure.

It was fun doing the shoot as Miles was in a playful mood. I had this crazy instinct though to be behind the camera snapping away. We don't have our camera this week so it's killing me not to take any!

Sunday, August 26, 2007

bumgenius bandit

No new pics to share today, but I do have a funny story to share. Miles was pretty hot this afternoon, so I laid him down for a nap with nothing but one of his Bumgenius diapers on. He didn't sound like he was napping, so I went in to check on him and I was very surprised to see Miles was NAKED as a jay bird! He had taken his diaper completely off and was happily rolling around in his crib free as can be. Thankfully he hadn't wet or soiled the bed and we thought it was hilarious (for now.) Of course, this could mean trouble for us now that he's figured out the velcro, though we just won't be spending too much time without a onesie on anymore to squelch his nudist desires.

Since I don't have any photos, I'll give a quick update on what Miles is doing now: Miles is sitting up really well now, which is great and so cute to watch him sit and play. He still has zero interest in crawling. If I put a toy in front of him to encourage him to crawl to, he'll just roll and roll until he is finally there. I'm not too upset about that becuase that means he is still pretty containable. He LOVES to eat and we haven't found a thing yet he doesn't like. Still no teeth either, but we still get cycles of teething. He LOVES to play peek a boo and is becoming more and more interested when I read to him, which is great. Today he rolled over to his toy box and tipped it over and started rummaging around to find a toy with which to play. Just a matter of weeks ago, he was just laying on a blanket and would play with whatever I gave him. Now he is seeking things out on his own. This is pretty normal stuff but amazing to me. Now, I guess it won't be so "amazing" when it's the remote control he's after and I won't be able to track it down. ; )

Well, I better get to bed. I'm resolving to get to bed earlier, so that means less blogging!

Thursday, August 23, 2007

sending a shout out....

Today mom and I went up to angola to do a bit of outlet shopping and then to meet my aunt Joan for lunch. We didn't have a ton of time to shop but we found plenty. You just have to cut yourself off at some point becuase you could shop all day. Miles was such a good shopper and good guy at the resteraunt, but it sure takes a lot of energy to make it all happen. Whew!

I wanted to send a very warm HELLO to Aunt Joan's co-workers that I met today when we stopped in at her office. I found out that they are all blog readers which is so cool! Thanks so much for tuning in ladies! It was so nice to get to see you. : )

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

welcome home!



If you have ever been to our house you know that Whisper likes to bring people a toy as a welcome gift. She does the same when miles comes home and it's so cute! They are not only excited to see us, but baby Miles as well.

wanna play?



Peek a boo!

are you lookin at me?


Miles is sitting on his own and it's so much fun to sit and play with him. Every once in a while he'll tip over so I can't go very far, but when I do need to step away (or take a photo) the boppy comes in handy to "catch" him.

always happy

John's out for a guy's night with a buddy and Miles went to bed early again, so I have the "good" computer allllll to myself. Photo time! I'm going to post a couple blogs because I have some busy days ahead where I won't be online much. i wanted to make sure I send some photos for the fam down South!

John and I were shopping a while back and saw this shirt at H&M and even John, who could go years without buying cloths-and has, even agreed we must buy it.

Even in a post vaccinated stupor, Miles was happy to pose for me.



Mom, you've got me laughing so hard....

I'm crying!

Ok, so maybe not ALWAYS happy, but pretty much!

chillin after our walk

After one of our walks last week, we took some extra time to check out the trees.
Yes, I actually leave the house wearing a pink jacket and green shirt with my hair in cubby ears. I have no shame. If I could get away with shaving my head I would. However, cubby ears is the closest I can get to not feeling my hair on my head.

Then chilled out on the front porch for a bit.



Miles was zoning as he was sleepy and ready for bed. He's been really good lately about going to bed a nice early hour. Last night it was 7 PM (that's early for us) but that was probably just becuase he had his vaccinations. He's such a good sleeper I really, really hope that continues.

Speaking of vaccinations, we had our latest doctor visit yesterday. Miles is in the 75th percentile for weight at 18.8 lbs. and the same for height, which I'm not quite sure what his height was, but I want to say 27 inches. (I could barge into John's office to bug him and get the sheet, but I'm trying not to interupt him so much during the day.) His head is 50th percentile, so he's not what the Zabel family would refer to as a "baby big brain." (Sorry for the inside joke!)

Everything is looking good. We always enjoy our doctor appts. and Miles seems to as well. Yesterday I was (trying to) have a serious conversation with our doc and Miles and daddy were on the paper covered exam table going nuts with the paper. Miles was shredding it and whipping it around like crazy. He was making all of this noise and I wanted to just laugh, but I was also trying to focus on what the doc was saying to me. Needless to say, once she got around to checking miles out, he was sitting in a nest of shredded paper.

Moving on, I got my Pottery Barn catolog today and there was much drooling. I usually just throw it in the recyling bin immediatly so I don't get depressed, but with all the cool home office stuff (my weakness) I had to take a peak.
The first thing that caught my eye is a cork board with bult in places to plug your ipod in with speakers. Then there is a little hidden cubby to stash your cell phones and other little items. So cool!


And my dream office. What I love about this are the three calendars. (My legacy to my old office where I started this orgizational style for the shipping schedule.) I love posting up multiple months at a time because then you don't get caught off guard by a birthday on the first of the month or something. Ahhhh, it all just looks so nice and clean....very much unlike the dark little cubby of clutter I have going on right now. Oh well, at least I can shut the doors to my computer armoire to hide all of my stuff. Ok, I"m inspired to organize now. Hopefully Miles will nap a bit longer so I can get some done. : )


Ohh, and fall is coming soon, my favorite time of year. These chocolate brown bowls and dishes are yummy!
Love these lanterns....


Ok, I could window shop for ages online, but time to stop day dreaming and get to work! I tell you what, I felt like shopping, so I just did some poking around and now it's out of my system....for now.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

tree hugger



When we go on walks Miles will reach out and grab for the leaves and will often surprise us by getting a handful of leaves. It's so much fun to watch how much more he is taking in his surroundings now.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

hat fun

Amy Conner got Miles this hilarious little hat last week. It was a bit small, but we worked on stretching it out....


Then I realized I should knot the top.

Not sure I could squeeze his ears in, oh, yea I can!

Poor Miles, what's mommy doing to you?


Thanks Amy! Not sure Miles will get much more use out of this hat, but someday hopefully we'll welcome another "boob man" into the family who can wear it. Like Amy said, he'll probably try to find a way to wear this again in high school. ; )

Friday, August 17, 2007

Check John out!

Check out John's new and improved website design at: www.mettaaudio.com

His new photo page layout is pretty cool. As soon as we have time/energy we are going to give me a shiny new upgraded blog. I can't wait!

For now, bed time. Nighty night!

PS A marching band director that purchased John's original show called him from his practise today! He was standing on the field and had a question about something for John. How's that for customer service? John said he could hear them playing in the background and he got all excited. He's going to plan a trip to see one of the schools play his peice. That will be super cool.

PPS Coming soon....photos of Miles in his "boob man" hat from Amy Conner.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

more on the big mommy & daddy bed...

As Miles has learned to sit up on his own, he has also been learning to fall down on his own. So I decided to sit him on our very soft bed to cushion his fall while I folded some laundry. Of course, as usual, it turned into a photo shoot that has filled three days full of blog pics. (How could I resist that great natural light coming in our windows?)


And down he falls....thankfully amongst the pillows.


Love that grin!

I thought I would grab a shot of Miles' whole body to show how long he is. (I usually focus on close ups.) He seems to be a long kid with a long torso like me. It will be interesting to see if he has John's long arms and legs too.

I couldn't get a picture of him all stretched out becuase he mostly likes to bring his toes up. This pose makes diaper changes an interesting challenge. ; )

Happy Friday everybody. It's 12:57 and I just got back from my friend Amy's house. She has been hosting the coolest bible study ever. (Yes, Bible study can be cool!) I need to send a HUGE thank you to Amy for being my social savior this summer. Everything Thursday I have put Miles to bed by 8:30 and then I head to her house for bible study at 9 PM. She invitied an awesome group of women who she says she chose becuase they have made heart centered choices in their lives. Wow, what an honor. We always started off with about a half an hour of chatting and then we would get in these great discussions until late into the night. I haven't gotten out to just do something for me much this summer, so this gathering has been guilt-free time to myself. John usually works on his stuff too while I'm away, so it's good time for him as well, I think. He is STILL up working on web stuff, by the way. Usually he is dead asleep when I get home and I wake him up from how hyper I am. Not tonight, we are both up and at 'em. I call these nights, Slumber party nights. We are so bad! We are going to be EXHAUSTED tomorrow!

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

randomness



Not much new to post, but figured the out of town fam would appreciate a new pic.

A few random thoughts:

I'm trying to figure out facebook now as it seems as if myspace is kind of over. If you are on it, convince me it's a good thing, which actually, won't be too hard to do. It's not as user friendly as myspace, but myspace can be kind of annoying with all the spam and endless quizzes people do. Like I need one more thing to suck my time on the computer!

I"m trying to convince myself not to buy these adorable yoga pants for Miles. They look like they would fit really well over Miles' cloth diapers. The lions share of our cold weather baby clothes are in 0-3 mos. sizes, so I get to do some shopping! (Somewhere John is cringing!) ; )

So with fall approaching, I'm going to have a hard time keeping myself from shopping.

Speaking of shopping online, I have been on the computer tonight wayyyyy to long. I need to go give my hubby a squeeze and get to bed. It's starting to rain so perfect sleeping weather!

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

playing in the big mommy and daddy bed




I about DIED when I captured these two pictures. They are two new favorites.

Today was a day where I just enjoyed being a mom. I didn't get much done (thanks to our two year old washing machine being broken) but I did get LOTS of play time in with Miles. I love that child so much!

Monday, August 13, 2007

up, up and away!

Miles sure loves his daddy! I have been wanting to hold him on my shoulders for the longest time, but I'm too afraid he'll fall backward. Daddy's not afraid though. ; )



My photography skills are kind of stinky tonight, but I still think the pics are cute.

Today Miles and I went to Grandma Smith's house to swim. Grandma bought this really fun floaty and even though the water was kind of cool, Miles was pretty content. He still loves the water, which is great.
Here's a picture of the float mom found, cute huh? Gotta love end of summer sales. : )

We are going to Myrtle Beach next month to see John's parents and we'll definitly be taking that along on our trip. For the pool at least, I'm not so jazzed about taking him full-on swimming in the ocean. Maybe just a toe dip or something.

Speaking of traveling, I've been getting some great tips from friends who have traveled with babies before. So keep them coming because I only have about a month left to obsess over planning this trip. ;-) One of my friends told me they had an umbrella for their baby on the beach. I suppose I should go find one of those somewhere, though I'm pretty sure our bags are already busting at the seams.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Miles' Dedication

Saturday we held a dedication ceremony for Miles at our home. Instead of a traditional baptism or christening, we chose to have one of my best friends, Amy Conner, perform the ceremony. She is currently in seminary at Princeton and she is someone who I have always looked to during important times of my life to help make them even more special. Amy spoke so beautifully during the ceremony and then had everyone in the room gather around me, John and Miles to lay hands on Miles and pray for him. (Stamp made sure she got in there too, of course!) Then everyone laid hands on me and John to pray for us as we parent Miles. I can't describe how wonderful it felt to have everyone pray for us like that and to take the time to celebrate Miles in that way.

A friend of ours, Cassie, came as well with her boyfriend to sing and she was absolutely beautiful. She actually was one of my cheerleaders I coached many years ago and I have gotten reacquainted with her during a bible study I have been attending. She is such a neat young woman and her voice is beautiful. The minute she started to sing, I couldn't help but cry and there wasn't a dry eye in the room. It was a very small gathering with just mostly family, but I would love to share a little video "scrapbook" of the day with you.

It is a short video of Cassie singing with photos of the day blended in. You will notice, at the end, we chose to show how tired we were once the party was over. ; ) I added a couple photos of the gifts we got as well, including an adorable handmade lamb from the Zabels and a neat glass thermometer that was Grandpa Smith's. Thank you to John for capturing all of this for me. Instead of writing music today, he made this video.



Thank you so much to Amy Conner and Cassie Paino for helping make that day so special for us. Thank you to everyone who came and for those of you who couldn't make it, I know you were there in spirit.

Thursday, August 09, 2007

polos and pianos

Lazy Sunday with mom....

Miles is plenty awake though!


Later this week I went through Miles' clothes to see what fit and what didn't. I found this cute little polo shirt from Annie's boys and tried it on with some plaid shorts. Cute! I tried to "pop" his collar, but it wouldn't stay. ; )



My sister gave us this exersaucer and this is the view I have of Miles as I wash dishes. I don't know what it is, but his little head and ears just crack me up.

John's studio is located right by the kitchen, so Miles and I often hear lots of music playing throughout the day. We stop by often to hear what he's playing and usually at the end of the day to tell him it's time to stop working and go walk the pugs or have dinner. On this day, Miles explored Daddy's studio a bit.




And finally, here's Miles trying out a sippy cup. Today is the last day for us to try carrots. (The doc tells you to try a food for many days in a row to see if he has a reaction to it. So at this point, we don't have much variety going on yet.) I'm moving on tomorrow and good riddance! Miles seemed to like them, but they STAIN like crazy! I now have "kitchen bibs" that I don't mind getting stained, but some of his nice bibs are now a gross shade of pale orange. Yuck!


I did a big blog because I won't be on for a while as I have a busy weekend coming up. Have a great rest of the week!