{The 3 J's: Julia, Joe and Josie}We found out 2 weeks ago that my Aunt Julia and Uncle Joe are getting married next summer! Last night my uncle called me and said "You can be the flower girl at our wedding and your sister can be the flower girl too and your brother gets to be the ring bearer." We are so excited! We can't wait for next year.
We were also a flower girl and ring bearer at my Uncle Isaac's wedding. Here's a picture of us at our uncle's wedding when we were little:
About a month late, and after 3 attempts at rescheduling, we finally made it in to see our doctor for Josie's 1-year and Cayden's 6-year check-ups. This was sadly the last time we will see our doctor, as she is moving to Arizona in a month. She has been our pediatrician since Avery was born so we are definitely sad to see her go. She has seen us through a lot in the past 8 years!
I had the pleasure of attending a Housewarming Party for a dear friend last night with many lovely ladies (this one, this one, and this one was there in spirit too!) when we got the brilliant idea to chip in and purchase the cozy house next door to use as our "clubhouse." This way we could get together whenever we wanted and no one would have the pressure of hosting. We could fill the house with craft supplies, books, junk food, movies, wine... anything we'd want! We could also sneak away there if one of us just needed a few moments of solitude. The best part of all? Apparently the house doesn't come with a washer or dryer so there would be no pressure to do any laundry! I really think this idea could sweep the nation and as a friend said, it might even get us on Oprah! Anyone else want in on the deal? :)
Otherwise, I will cry. See teardrop in above photos.
...and her railroad tracks:
{In case you didn't notice, she also lost her 9th tooth last night.}
The art from this show was all made during "Art Infusion," a parent-run program that brings an amazing art lesson into the classroom once a month. If you want to read more about it from a good mom who actually volunteers in the program, you can read Amy's account here. | Vernon God Little, by D.B.C. Pierre |
From the outset, the narrative of this book is striking. The 16-year old boy telling the story provides a non-stop flow of sarcasm and swear words almost throughout. I could see writing a three-page story in this kind of voice and having it be amusing for at least two of those pages. Yet somehow D.B.C Pierre not only kept it consistent and authentically sounding like a confused teenager for an entire novel, he used the voice to keep the story genuinely entertaining, surprisingly enlightening, and always funny. And what's more amazing, he took a naive, vulgar little man and made him genuinely likable. It takes very little time to become invested in Vernon Little and his well-being.
The story, too, is compelling. It follows this young man as he is railroaded in an investigation of a school shooting, carried out by a friend of his. Along the way, a surprising number of relevant topics are touched upon in a surprisingly telling fashion--the disturbing role of the media in our society, the lengths people go through to hide their troubles from others, etc. Unique, compelling, funny narrative: check. Thoughtful commentary on the issues of our times: check. By the time I finished this book, I was sure I had a winner without even reading Christie's book. But alas, I was wrong.
 | The Road, by Cormac McCarthy |
Like with Darren's book, the style of The Road was unique. I would describe it as minimalist and disjointed--there are no chapters, frequent breaks between scenes, no punctuation to differentiate dialog from the rest of the text. You might think that this style would be annoying, but it really fits the story. The book is set in post-apocalyptic Earth--not necessarily in the future, but after a major calamity for which you are definitely glad that you weren't present. Featuring a father and his son traveling through the resulting barren planet looking for a warmer climate, the novel is a fascinating depiction of their daily struggle for survival and tense and disturbing interactions with the other survivors whose paths they cross.
The most compelling part of this piece, however, is the way in which Cormac McCarthy distilled the parent-child relationship down to its very essence. It's heart wrenching but somehow familiar to watch this father, who wants to give his child all of the best things from a world that he will never know, be happy just to know that his son is alive after another frigid night.
I believe that most people would find this to be a great book (apparently it was one of Oprah's books, so at least Oprah liked it), but I may be a little biased. Part of the reason The Road hit so close to home for me was that the boy in the novel could easily be Cayden. While both children are kind and generous and sometimes too honest, the primary trait that links the two in my mind is the disturbingly mature understanding of topics like death and fear, and a willingness (eagerness?) to discuss them. Perhaps every parent with a child who can walk and talk will see his or her offspring in this role. But even if not, The Road is definitely worth a read.
I'll go on record right now and say that this was not a fair competition. The style and plot of these two books couldn't be a whole lot different. It's like asking two people to prepare you their favorite food, and having one prepare a main course while the other prepares dessert. How is one to compare the two? Despite the apples and oranges, there's no way I could not pick The Road as the winner. It is easily one of the best books I have read (note: I haven't read all that many books).
It is fairly common to find a book that you don't want to put down and that you find yourself thinking about while you're not reading; The Road, however, went a step further for me. I found myself having strange moments where the novel's world was somehow present in my own. I would look up at the sun behind an overcast sky and I was there in the clouds of ash. I would look at Cayden, then sick, trailing behind me on a sidewalk with his sweatshirt's hood hiding all but his tired looking eyes, and he was the boy from the story. It got a little eerie there for a while.
So while Christie and I may disagree on who our next president should be (she likes left and I prefer lefter), I will gladly take more reading suggestions from her. Or from Darren, for that matter.
Since Oregon's vote will actually matter for this primary (the first time since 1968), we have seen a fair amount of the candidates this year. Bill & Chelsea Clinton have been criss-crossing the state all weekend and the above photo is from Obama's rally downtown this morning. Something about the scene just makes me so proud to be from Portland. Seeing all those people who are so excited for a real, genuine change... it actually sends tingles down my spine, as corny as that sounds. I wish we could have been there today (with the 74,995 other people!) but the enormous crowd and 85 degree temps seemed a little daunting for 3 kids. In retrospect, that seems like a lame excuse... talk about a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. 
Classic Foot Stuck In The Slats Of The Crib. And by stuck, I mean stuck. Her legs are.... um.... kind of chunky and she had really gotten her left one jammed in there. She had a mark on her calf by the time the fire department was able to extricate her (kidding).
In the above photo, Josie is proudly showing off her new ability to somehow untie her crib bumper and pull it up and over her head.
Finally, this is how I found Josie this morning. With no bag, no blankets, and no crib bumper, she managed to get herself to a stand in the crib. The main problem with the above situation (besides the hair)? Her very favorite thing in the world (Bear) has somehow been tossed to the ground. I wonder how that could have happened???
A yummy post-playdate barbecue with good friends (the beer on the table does not belong to any of the children, I promise). The kids spent the afternoon in the slip-n-slide eating popsicles and drinking lemonade. What a life!
After dinner, we headed out to Cayden's second soccer game. Avery, Josie and I froze during the first one Tuesday but today we were quite enjoying ourselves in the shade. Cayden, on the other hand, was blazing hot (as was his Daddy/Coach, I assume).
One thing I didn't anticipate with the heat... Josie's been having a lot of trouble sleeping. She usually gets tucked in really tight with a warm blanket but since that's obviously not happening today, she keeps getting her left foot stuck in the slats of her crib. I found a really light blanket to tuck her in with tonight and I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
In other news, her hair is longer than ever (funny how that happens when you don't cut it!). I'm really trying to avoid cutting her bangs but it's starting to make me crazy... especially because I cannot find clips that she'll keep in. The back seat of the car is littered with her hair clips!
Avery & Cayden ecstatically showing off their "family gift" from Josie (Poor Cayden's been home all week with an awful cold/fever/possible pink eye so this really made his day):
And finally, Josie enjoying her Chantilly birthday cake (Thanks to Christie for introducing us to her delicious neighborhood bakery!): How do you sum up a whole year in just a few words? Especially a year that has flown by so fast, in the blink of an eye. One year ago today, at 8:22 in the morning, we met Josie for the first time. The day started out as one of the most traumatic of my life. The anticipation of a planned c-section to deliver a pre-term baby was enough to send me into a mini-panic (literally). I was afraid that something would go wrong during surgery or that the baby would be too small. Little did I know she would be the biggest of all our babies (7 pounds, 14 ounces). Despite being delivered 3+ weeks early, she got a perfect 10 on her Apgar score (the highest score my doctor and some of the nurses had ever seen!) and she was perfectly healthy. When they held her up so I could see her, I just remember thinking how big she was... and how much hair she had!
{2 Weeks}It was definitely nerve-wracking to bring a new baby into a family of 4 that had gotten into such a good routine. With a 5 and 7 year old, we had gotten pretty used to life with big kids. I wasn't sure how a baby would change all of that but luckily, Josie is so good at going with the flow. She spent her first summer watching daily swim lessons and driving to and from various camps. In September she was introduced to the daily world of elementary school. Although it's not her favorite place to hang out (especially for meetings!), she tolerates it better than I could have hoped.
{3 Months}Getting a new routine with our newly-expanded family definitely proved to be a challenge. I have come to just count on the fact that with 3 kids, someone will always need something. There is no such thing as "down time" in our house anymore... even when they're finally all asleep, there is always something to do in preparation for tomorrow. But it keeps us on our toes and is of course worth every ounce of effort!
{6 Months}The best part of last May 7th was calling our mothers to have them bring Avery & Cayden to the hospital. Ever since we told them that they were going to have a baby sister (Cayden actually tackled Avery out of excitement), they have loved Josie more than I thought was possible. They run into her room every morning to say hello and to see how her night was. They never hesitate to entertain her when I need a few minutes of baby-free time and that has been the biggest help! She couldn't have asked for better siblings and I hope they will grow up to be good friends.
{9 Months}I think all 4 of us would agree that we have had so much fun with Josie this past year. She isn't always the most cheerful creature in the world but for the most part, she is a very happy girl. She is inquisitive and precocious and so very smart. As much as we all want her to grow up and do new things every day, I am trying so hard to savor these early days!
{This Morning, 8:22am... exactly ONE YEAR OLD!}Happy, Happy First Birthday, Jojo... Momo, Mojo, NayNay, The Joester, Joey Joes, Baby... thank you for coming into our lives and letting us watch you grow up. We love you so, so much!
