The Big Orange Pumpkin Farm

We made our annual trip to the pumpkin patch last week. Here are a few pictures from our trip. It was a perfectly beautiful day for the pumpkin patch. Just the right mix of warm sun and cool breeze.

Every year they dispense a cup of feed at the entrance so we can feed the animals, but never had we had a child so eager to feed them as Robert. Notice the Baby Food Phenomenon occurring with Robert's mouth.


William was brave enough to hold a cup and let a goat come near enough to slurp out the feed, but watch out! Goats will take the whole cup!


Mary enjoyed the beautiful sunshine as we putted along behind the tractor on the hayride.



I don't know if we'll ever get a picture of all of their bright shining faces at once, but here's the best we could muster with so many amazing things to see around the farm.


You can see loads more of these pictures at smugmug.

3³ and an annual affair

Today is our day. It's Doug's and my birthday!

Doug turns a nice cubed number today. I, on the other hand, have hit a prime age...one that by tradition is perpetual bliss for women. So blissful, in fact, that I'll be making this an annual affair. Today is my 1st annual 29th birthday! Until this morning, I was really nervous about turning 29, but today it doesn't seem so bad...must be the bliss. :-)

Our birthday, being on the same day, is like another anniversary for us. Way back in 1996, when Doug and I first met, we exchanged email addresses for a reason I don't remember and chatted a bit. I remember being a bit giddy about talking with him, though admittedly, I only saw him as a classmate. I had never emailed before, so it was new to me and that made the chatting even more exciting. I would anxiously await his replies. I remember asking him to tell me about himself and typical of Doug, the short answer came back, "like what?" He must have had some defining qualities right? But I started by asking when his birthday was. When the reply came back I thought, "This guy is creepy! How does he know when my birthday is and why would he pretend to have the same one?" So I called him on it. Doug, the ever-practical replied, "Why would I lie about my birthday?" I had to spill that Oct 27 was my birthday too. I think I asked him a few more times, "Are you sure that's your birthday?" I just couldn't believe that we shared the same day!! I'd like to say that it was love right then, but that's not true. It certainly did spark a really great friendship. We proceeded to chat for hours on the phone. When I met his mom for the first time, I asked her about his birthday too. It seemed too surreal.

12 years later, it seems so natural to have "our birthday" instead of "mine."

A new house

We've been through a lot of upheaval in the recent months, all for a new house to call home. We talked, we negotiated, we put our house on the market, and kept it sparkly clean for 7 weeks before closing. We visited model homes, flipped through dozens of home magazines, picked flooring, tile, paint, cabinets, grout, doors, bricks, carpet, railing, moulding, appliances, outlet placement...

This weekend the behind the scenes work of the summer turned into something tangible. It's hardly ready for move in, but it sure seems like a huge leap toward what until now has been an invisible goal.

Behold...



Isn't it magnificent. :-) So cozy.

William Update

After a release from the Neurologist, William experienced a relapse 2 weeks ago. I noticed a significant weakening and his slapping step returned. It was a Friday and I feared not reporting it before the weekend, so I called the pediatrician, who spoke with the neurologist. Our pediatrician saw us that afternoon and could not find reflexes in his knees. She and the neurologist decided to send us to the ER for another spinal tap. They were very busy and it took hours before they performed the procedure, but we finally had it done. He really fought this time because he knew what was coming, so it was a lot rougher than last time. When the results came back, the protein levels that indicated GBS were higher than they were the first time he was admitted. Around 3am, William was given a room upstairs with a plan to administer a half dose of IVIG over a 2 day period.

The treatments went well this time around and the neurologist could not pinpoint the down turn. It is very rare to get worse, but his only explanation was that we interrupted William's immune system early enough last time that as it started to take control again, it continued to destroy.

William is home again, recovering well. We finally got an evaluation and plan for physical therapy. He goes 2 times per week to practice his balance and strength exercises. He is quite weak so we are hoping for great progress as he continues in the therapy.

The neurologist suggested some exercises on a Wii, so we debated buying one and finally found and purchased one a little more than a week ago. We have the Wii Fit program and William enjoys doing it, but clearly needs focus on balance and strength (just like the PT assessed). I love the Wii for myself. It is fun and I'm actually enjoying the Yoga exercises in the privacy of my own living room.

We have been so, so busy these last couple of months. I don't see our load lightening any in the next 5 or 6 months either. All the subject of another post.