Priceless Photos with Santa

Keith took Seth to the SuperMall to see Santa. That didn't go over so well....in fact no photos from the event because he threw such a fit....Seth that is. Then we tried Santa at Furney's. No such luck there. We tried using other kids, their dog, and looking at the trees as distraction before heading to Santa....didn't work and we've the photo of him screaming to prove it. Then it was to the Alderwood Mall. We'd met up with the family for lunch and pics with Santa. Papa (grandpa) Hank offered to purchase the photos. I warned him that it may result in photos of a screaming child (and truly? the photo is precious because it captures the moment...not that we want him upset, but that it captured the true moment and wasn't phony) and he was willing to chance it. So Seth got his turn and he started to scream and then Auntie Megan turned on the charm, said his name, and the biggest grin was captured! Santa looks a bit shocked in the photo and who wouldn't be after having a child go from ear piercing scream and tears to a big smile. Thanks Auntie Megan!

Tis the Season

I can't believe we've already gone thru Halloween and Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving was such a blur since our family came down with some nasty cold/bronchial thing that warranted quarantining ourselves from everyone else for the holiday for fear we'd pass it on.
I haven't listened to one Christmas song, gone out to see the Christmas lights, or put up the tree. I was however, able to get over to Christina's for our annual cookie baking with Renee'. We've only had a few years of doing this and continually try to tweak our methods of how many different varieties we should each make, setting up dough making locations throughout the kitchen, overlap the baking times for all the cookie trays coming and going from the oven, and keep the event from going to the late hours. Tina is always so gracious with allowing us to bring her kitchen to a state of chaos and and something that looks like a test kitchen gone bad or like we conducted a cookie dough fight with remnants of sticky something and flour all over the place. And somehow, she forgets and invites us back each year! What a great friend. I love our cookie baking just because it signifies the season, gives us time to come together, and that no matter how long it's been since we've seen one another....time dissolves and they we are. There's always request for Tina's toffee, Renee's molasses chewy cookies, and I'm slowly mastering my chocolate/peanut butter "Buckeyes". Next year I want to drizzle white chocolate or crushed nuts on top...it's all about presentation. I'm feeling the Spirit of the Season....and going out to the garage for the Tree.

Days later update....got the Christmas Tree up with it's pre-lit lights and put the Felt Star on top....but I've yet to drag out the ornaments or any other decorations. Why? I intend to each time Seth is napping or Keith gets home from work ( I don't want him to miss out on it) but other things keep popping up that need to get done...like sweeping the crumbs and food from under Seth's high chair, trying to unload dishwasher, do loads of laundry, rake up leaves (it takes nearly 8 weeks of yard waste pickup to get rid of all the debris from trees, maple tree due to time of year and high time of year for wind storms), and all the other things that I'd try to accomplish so that I can spend the rest of the day with Seth. So if the ornaments don't go up? no biggee.

OK days later update. Debby bought me a package of 40 felt ornaments the day Seth and I had met up with her for shopping in Seattle. She just ran her first Seattle Jingle Bell Run that morning....she's awesome! I would of loved to have joined her but it's hard to train right now with my daily regiment of waking at 0330am, work from 5am to 330p, picking up Seth, getting him dinner, packing my lunch for next day, squeezing in my dinner, and off to bed. I seriously think I may have to get up at 3am to try to get in a daily workout! Yikes, I know! Anyhow, I put the ornaments up and they are fabulous. I soon discovered that I had to put them up at least 3 ft off the floor and inward on the branches to prevent Little Man from taking them down. Did it work? Absolutely...not. He somehow managed. And I got to admit, I was impressed by his ability to get on his tippy toes and wiggle them loose. The kid is amazing.

Daddy's Little Scientist

Keith has started to call Seth Daddy's Little Scientist because he's just constantly trying to explore and test everything. He loves to crawl all over the furniture, create forts with the throw pillows, wedge himself into any nook or cranny to see if you can find him, feel everything for texture, open cubboards and empty the contents, tip his sippy cup upside down emptying the liquids onto the floor, food tray...whatever have you to smear it around like finger paints, and so much more.

The car seat is our greatest challenge. Rarely does he go into it willingly. The normal reaction is throwing his body about, screaming at top volume and fingernails being thrust at your face, arms or grabbing for hair...as if he'd been cast in a horror flick or a poster child for "My Parents are the Worst". I swear sometimes I think he's trying to call Child Services on his Elmo phone and telling them how I don't heat his milk just right, I make him take naps, and that I make him get out of the bathtub even though he's only been in it an hour, his fingers are pruney from being in so long, and the water is starting to turn cold. Every once in a while, you can latch him in the carseat with very little effort, but these times are so few and rare that when they do happen...I find myself sitting there with a stupid wild eyed look on my face completely stunned by the whole situation that I wasn't kicked or something thrown at me. whew!

Seth attended his first wedding. It all started well with him looking sharp in his argyle sweater and cord pants. But shortly after the ceremony began, his patienced wained. Suddenly, everything the woman next to us had was completely fascinating and something he must have- umbrella (yep she brought the popup style), purse, and of course her digital camera and cellphone (I think every child has some weird homing device that can locate any cellphone within their body length). I started to get sweaty constantly pulling him back and trying to retrieve him from under the chairs, handing him a bottle, game, anything to try to keep him quiet and try to show what a good parent I was to bring such a well behaved child. Ha! We hadn't even gotten to the exchange of vows before I had to exit the area in lightening speed when my latest retrieving him from trying to walk on top of the chairs made him mad and start to scream at capacity that I was afraid would stop the ceremony. The rest of the even was spent in the child play are of the church. The finale of the evening came when I went to put him in the carseat in the back of the Jeep, it was started to rain something fierce, and Seth started to kick at me....enough movement on the back of the Jeep that the back window panel came down from where it was rolled up and smacked me in the high cheek bone area with the metal bar. Somehow I remained calm and got Seth situated ( I think he too was stunned by what he just witnessed). My cheek swelled immediately and good size knot stayed there for days. Lucky for me I had Burt Bees Bump and Bruises Balm in Seth's backpack that I applied immediately (this stuff is amazing and everyone should keep handy)...I think it's the thing that prevented me from ever bruising up. Next time I have a wedding to attend, I'm taking someone with me to help run defense.

He's starting to add words to his vocabulary. Him and I have a special routine that I do during our commute...picking categories and giving a word for each letter of the alphabet. i.e. Outdoors A- Alps B- Boats C- Cabin ....have to say that X and Z really create the brain cells to go into overload trying to come up with words...and Q. Ugghh.

Our Lumberjack

So the plan for this year's costume was ...Godzilla. However, Seth refuses to wear anything on his head right now. So in order to avoid people saying "What a great lizard, dragon,etc..." you get the point...I decided to wait another year or so when he is old enough to maneuver with a headpiece on. So we decided on a Garden Gnome. Wouldn't you know it...1 day before our departure to Chicago and a little over a week before Halloween, Target has an ad for a Gnome outfit. So that idea was out since we didn't want people to think we were doing our own knockoff version. So we decided on Lumberjack. So on go the flannel, jeans, vest, work boots, and here is where it got difficult. So we made a axe out of cardboard so it would be light enough for him to carry. What we didn't factor in is that he wouldn't even give the item a second thought and refused to even hold it. The beanie cap. It's a hat, so enough said...he kept pulling it off. So we both tried grease penciling on a beard/mustache knowing that a stick on beard wouldn't have lasted more than a few minutes with Seth. Neither did our grease beard. He kept rubbing his face, tilting his chin and rubbing it onto his shirt...and well in the end our Lumberjack started to look like a Hobo.

Just Pickin' Pumpkins in the Rain

Picking pumpkins sort of snuck up on us this year. We had discussed it earlier in the month, but with our trip to Chicago to plan, a leak in the roof, and 3 costume changes for this year's Halloween pick (more on that later)....we almost didn't make it to the Patch. We had only one day of opportunity, the Tuesday after we returned from Chicago. So we said "Rain of Shine". Shine? Nope. It started off that morning with the typical Washington sprinkle...No Big Deal. Well we got to the patch and it was started to come down. But we had packed the boots, jackets, and even....an Umbrella ( I know, how many Washingtonians own one right?) Well, Seth's boots are a bit too big, but we figured they'll work. Wrong. They were fine when he was walking, but as soon as he fell down and you picked him up, whoosh went the boots to the mud and puddles. I think the temperature dropped about 5 plus degrees from the time we arrived. Seth tried to pick out his own pumpkin, but the one he clearly wanted was about 4 times his body weight. I think the farthest we got into the patch was about 100 yards. We managed to snap a few photos, grab a pumpkin, and then it was back to the car to remove all the wet clothes, boots, jackets, and wouldn't you know it...we never used the umbrella!

They Built It, So We Went

Our very own Federal Way as host to this year's World Championship of Sand Sculpting. How could anyone possibly pass that up? World! This is huge! I sent emails out to anyone I knew to let them know about the big event...so if they are reading this and never went, their loss. It was such a sight to see. I have to say I had my doubts about the location ( the old Target and Toys R Us parking lots that have sat vacant for years), the number of items on exhibit and how popular it would be. Turns out, the location was a great use of space, there were so many sculptures, and the day we went was very busy. These artist have such a talent. Remember trying to use a bucket and shovel to make what look like a mounded castle construction? I remember mine always had a moat, I used twigs and rocks for decoration, and not very brilliant on my part...tended to built it close to the water...so when the tide came in...well there it went. There were 2 sculptures in shape of sand castles, true sand castles. They came equipped with arches, water cascading from their moats, peasant dwellings and elaborate detailing in the brick work. There was another sculpture that was a couple of buildings/ face and when you got at just the right angle, the two appeared to merge as if one. Another one that looked like a person in bondage was so detailed on the tie down straps that you felt like you wanted to walk up, release the mechanism, and free them from whatever they were bond to. OOh another good one was the one representing Washington. Typical Space Needle in the center but the artist did a fantastic job showing all this great state has to offer in ways of its evergreens, wildlife, mountains, and parks. The pics will have to be posted later. There is another good story for that. See we packed the digital camera, but forgot to replace the SD card that we had removed and forgot to recharge the battery. So Keith ran over to Top Foods and purchased a instant camera that we will have to take in for developing, scan into the computer, and then post later.

Free Your Glee Time

Who doesn't love the Fair? All the rides, exhibits, food, music, and everyone bustling about. The smell....absolutely awesome...a mix of grilled burger and onions, sweet scones, and "good farm" smell (hay, but not peed on type- ha). We were so excited about taking Seth this year since this meant Petting Zoo. He liked the sheep (for some reason kids find it less scary to pet the rear then the head), wanted nothing to do with the goats, wasn't too impressed by the bunny (but did like my twitchy nose impression of one), pretty much ignored the birds, laughed when he got to meet Elwood (my girlfriend Robin's daughter Hilary was showing him at Fair), and L.O.V.E.D the baby chicks. We think he loved the chicks so much since that is his favorite bedtime story that Daddy reads him "Fluffy Chick". We were able to check out a couple of exhibits - where people show off their collections, crafts, and art/photo. We were particularly excited about our niece Mikayla's Ostrich piece that she had on display. The women at the help booth had no problem remembering exactly where it was located when I had to beg for their help in locating. Oh, and you know how you can vote for your favorite piece? Yep, you got our 2 votes Mikayla!
Every year, Keith and I celebrate our Anniversary by attending the fair. We fell into this little ritual soon after we started dating. We were at the Puyallup Fair, jumped into one of those 4 pics on a sheet photo booths, and well...it began. Each year we would alternate between the black and white and colored photos. We try diligently to remember that we need to come up with different facial expressions prior to the event, but the pics always seem to come out with a serious/funny/where are we looking...oh there/and cutesy. Well 2 years ago I held a sign that said "plus one", last year we had 4month old Seth posing with sunglasses, and this year...well here's a funny story. So, we're walking around the entire fairgrounds, Seth has managed to skip his morning nap and it's really starting to show with anger management issues, and we're thinking we'd better get that photo. Yep, he completely zonked out about 5 min before we took the photo. It was hilarious. I kept trying to hold up his 19lb body so that he could be seen in pic, but he was slumping like a sack of potatoes. So it got truly funny as I am desperately trying to keep up with Keith on trying different fascial expressions, trying to prop Seth up, and the photo shots are being taken quicker then I can try to manage. Compound that with the fact that the Fair no longer has the classic photo booth - one that you would just look straight on into the camera, offered a reflection to check your hair, and the seat would adjust to accommodate your needs (like us shorter folks). Not this booth- it's only color, a non-adjustable bench, and the camera (as I so tried to remind myself but kept looking down) was located above the screen in front of you. Needless to say, the whole event made the pic for this year even more memorable.

Take me out to the Ballgame

Keith, Seth and I went to Jack and Ethan's T-ball games on Saturday. It was so great on so many levels...we had the day together as a family, it was weekend day, got to visit with Ben and Jill, and got to see both boys play t-ball. First up was Jack's team The Monkeys. Jack is currently trying out playing as a "lefty", seems to be a natural at sports, and is learning the concept or rather basics of the game. We had a 40min break between games so all 3 boys played at a nearby playground. Next up was Ethan's team The Wildcats. Ethan seems to have no problem connecting bat to ball, loves to see how fast he can run, and kept practicing proper stances while hanging out in the outfield. I felt like their personal paparazzi snapping up photos every chance I got.

Holding his own...bottle.

Well, tomorrow marks Seth as 1 year 3 months. As you can see from the photos, he has started to walk and hold his own bottle. Mind you, he won't fuss if you hold the bottle for him...he actually prefers it. It's such a relief not to have to hold it all the time since it seems to take him longer to drink from the bottle now that he is starting to learn on the cup. It is however, one of the few times he'll just lay with you and snuggle. With Seth, snuggling indicates either bottle time or he is not feeling well..ie teething.
Walking, now that's an entirely different thing. He does not want any one's help. Last month you could of offered to hold his hands to help balance, but that's yesterday's news. Oh and he was perfectly fine with a complete stranger or another relative helping him walk, but mama? Nope. The only way Seth walks with me is by hanging on to the back of my skirt, shorts or pants and walking behind me. He is very good about directing me where to go as well and vents his frustration when I either stop or go in the wrong direction.
Shopping carts. Here's a funny. Seth wants to help you push it. Yeah. So imagine trying to hold him as he is putting both hands on the bar and trying to push it down the aisle. Remember, he's barely 2ft in height which means you are trying to hold him up off the ground at bar height, holding onto him for dear life as he is pushing the cart all over the place, and trying to put items in the cart, steer, and let him think he is pushing....otherwise, bring on Sonic Boom Boy. Yikes!
Babbling. Oh Seth loves to babble, especially in the late afternoon evening. It's like he is recapping the day. He just gets to going, it's so awesome. I try to hold a conversation but at some point...he just bores of me. ha ha.
He also does this 2 fist thing in the air. He throws both arms stretched above his head, fist clenched while babbling what sounds to be angry banter. It actually started a couple of weeks back as a tantrum/angry thing. But of course, I thought it hilarious so I made up positive things to say like "mom gives me organic and I want the regular stuff" or "I want cookies to go with that" or " it just makes me so angry I have to shake my fist"....and every time, he ends up giggling at my antics and chimes along. It's simply hilarious.
Hide and seek. Ah now this is a favorite of Seth's. He will hide behind the curtains in the dining area and wait for you to say "Where is Seth" and play along. This can go on for a while sometimes. He giggles when you find him and seems to think no one can see him even when half of his body is exposed or his feet are showing. It's funny. He also likes to play this one varied as a "try catch me" or "look for me" game as he crawls in and out of furniture, from one room to the next and around anything that has a slight obstruction, like a corner wall. He just giggles so hard when you surprise him and act like he surprised you. It's precious.
The couch. Ugggh. We knew this day would come. He wants to climb up on the couch...and then what? Yep, try to lean over the sides. Yikes! Sometimes Keith and I have to purposely sit on either end of the couch to try to block him. And when we're trying to watch a Netflix item, we have to sit on the floor, otherwise you have to keep rewinding or pausing the program in order to keep one eye on him and the tv...it's too much.

Playing in the kiddie pool

I think it hit 87degrees today. Whew! Thankfully Keith broke out the bicycle pump this morning and inflated the turtle pool Russ and Danyal's son Carlton passed down to us. Sweet! I removed all his clothing, including diaper, and plunked him inside. He loved it. He must have
sat out in that thing for a good solid hour playing with a small sand bucket, shovel, and sandcastle casts (dual purpose for when we fill up his sandbox that we scored at the local church rummage sale). I had turned the thing so that the back of it blocked out the sun and only had about an inch of water in it. I let him decide when he was done....that's one thing we have learned about Seth, he will bust out the Sonic Boom on you if you pull him away from something he is enjoying. Trust me, the Sonic Boom is just that. (see month 11 for further explanation). He decided he was done right after he peed in the pool. Yeah, you knew that was going to happen, only natural.

Father's Day

This year, we hosted the Father's Day Celebration at our place. The weather was...well temperamental, but luckily we had a couple of canopy covers to prevent the BBQ from getting soaked. Let's face it, when it comes to Mother's Day... the day is usually spent doting on mom, taking her out for a meal so she's not cooking, flowers, and lots of family. Father's Day? That would mean BBQ, some sort of tool or practical item, a game on TV, and keeping it really simple. They're so easy.
Father's Day last year was such a blur. Seriously, I think our eyes were closed half the first 3 months after Seth's birth. Him being colicky really tested how little we could get by on. So this Father's Day was extra special seeing as we were completely awake, dressed in attire more than "lounge wear", able to have that special bonds with other dads, the guys all wore themed shirts that Laurie had given out this past Christmas, and Ester's dad Ray made a huge P-38 wind vane. Life is truly good.

X Power

If Seth were a superhero, what would his X-Power be? Hmmmm well that's easy...his Sonic Boom. Ladies and Gentleman cover your ears because this Little Man of ours has an ear piercing scream that will bring you to your knees. It reverberates off concrete, has the ability to stop everyone in their tracks, will make all conversation cease, will cause dogs to howl, and will make you forget what you were doing. Behold, I give you Sonic Boom Boy! The following activities are known irritants to Sonic Boom Boy and will cause him to release the fury: changing his diaper, putting him down for nap, any public place that involves shopping and has made him tired or hungry, and taking him away from any and all activities that he was enjoying - ie. putting dirt, rocks, grass,etc in mouth and trying to roll off the couch. We truly hope it is merely a phase. Whew!

Celebrating My Day As Seth's Mom

It's my day. No, not my birthday...something even better, Mother's Day. My first was journaled and photographed, but the blog had yet to be born. So here I am, celebrating my 2ND Mother's Day. As if the day he was born wasn't a moving experience enough....I now get the joy of being able to relive that moment each year. It's the day that changes you. You're no longer (insert your name here), but now you're someones mom. Wow! It will come with so many challenges, tears, laughter, and so many rewards. I look into his tiny little face and think "we did this, this great miracle, beautiful child, and he's all ours". One day he'll make me Happy Mother's Day cards, pottery with his hand print, curious drawings that I'll need help deciphering, bouquets made from dandelions, breakfast that looks like a soggy mass of goop (maybe cereal? maybe pancake?), and oddball items he thought mommy would love and made daddy purchase (items from the Dollar Store, necklaces that only a rapper could sport, or perfumes that make your eyes water,etc). I'll be known by most as Seth's mom.

This year the boys gave me a whimsical apron and "mommy coupons" to be cashed in at will, bought me an iced coffee, and took me to see the Bonsai Garden Exhibit at Weyerhauser. The day with my two of my favorite guys ( the others being Dad, my brothers Ed and Ben, and my Brother -In- Laws Donny, Joe, and Stephen...of course). Speaking of gifts....Seth is making me a gift in his diaper, duty calls.
Seth, thank you for giving me this day. Love you! Mom

1st Birthday

Well our Little Man, Master Seth, turned One! People are not kidding when they tell you it all goes so fast. It only seems like last month when the doc was passing Seth over the Barrier Screen (for the cesarean) and I got to see that tiny little guy for the first time. He just seems to get cuter as the days go by.
I sent out homemade owl invites for Look Who is Turning One. We did a dual party for Seth and his buddy Oliver (born merely 3 days prior to Seth even though Seth was due a good week or so prior). Since it's their first birthday, I kept the decorations to a minumum- Kanae brought the balloons and I put up a Happy Birthday banner.
When it came time to blow out the candle, neither seemed to care. But when it came time to dig into the cake, Oliver was playing patty cake and slowing eating at his...while Seth just stared at it and eventually broke out crying. Everyone was clappping or laughing at what they boys were doing. Seth is not a fan of loud noise and I think that's when he lost it. Eventually I had to remove him from the highchair to calm him down. Hopefully next year he'll want to try the cake. The pic that we sent out to all our friends and family to announce that Seth had turned 1 was him crying at his cake (on another note: Safeway had made both boys a bright and I mean bright blue (stainable) baby block looking banana cake. I cannot believe they made it in such a brilliant blue color. We had to scrape the blue off, otherwise it would of stained everything it came into contact including teeth and clothes. Oh well, made it memorable)
We had a great turn out, in attendance were: Hank, Laurie, Deb, Don, Meg, Ed, Lindsey, Baby Anika, Ben, Jill, Jack, Ethan, Kanae, Shayne, Alice, and Alicia. He got so many wonderful gifts including the handmade rocking horse by Papa Hank.
Happy 1st Birthday Master Seth! Love Mom and Dad

Easter

Seth and I attended his first Easter Day Service at church, our beloved Grace Lutheran in Des Moines. I had a pair of patent dress shoes and white dress shirt that was passed down to us. Unfortunately, the dress shoes were a bit too big so I winged it. And the closest "slacks" that fit his tiny little waist were a pair of brown plaid patterned ones. He looked so cute. I picked us a seat way up top on the balcony level in case he started to get fussy. It went pretty well...until about 3/4 of the way thru. At that point he decided to go check out the nearby stairs. I was already working up a sweat at this point having chased him down the aisles, constantly handing toys and paper to entertain him, and having my arms here and there so as to prevent him crawling off. Well....mommy was just awful because I stopped him from doing a nose dive down the stairwell. And for that? Yep, I got the scream he is becoming infamous for, the ear piercing one. It completely reverberated off the high ceilings, created a bit of shifting in the seats down below us, and I think the pastor actually lost his moment in thought. Sorry. I made sure to take a photo of Seth out front of the church prior to the service, in case it all went down hill. ha ha ha (see pic above). We survived. After all, what better place to be forgiven for our?! It didn't stop people from telling me what a beautiful child he is and such a gift of God. He truly is and Keith and I feel completely blessed to call him ours. The scream is merely a phase....right?!
Seth received a large plastic Easter Egg from Nana Judy that contained a plastic boat for the tub, a folding bunny book and a really cool fish kite. Nana Alice also got him a couple of books (one he is reading in photo). I made him a card that I put in his memory box.

Family Soul....Patch

In honor of the Winter Olympics and Federal Way's very own Apolo, we decided to pose for Seth's 10 Month photo by showing our family's soul....patch!

Seth's Peach Tree

In February, mom planted this frost free peach tree in her backyard in honor of Seth's birth.

Papa Hank and Auntie Debby

Papa Hank and Auntie Debby came by to visit Seth. Papa Hank demonstrated his great whistling skills that just amazed Seth, got on the floor "at Seth's level" as he called it, and was obviously impressed by his grandson's babbling skills. Auntie Debby smothered him with a dozen kisses and in return, Seth let her feed him his bottle. Of course Papa Hank didn't come empty handed, giving his grandson a couple of toy cars and Three Billy Goats Gruff book/cd combo that we will be passing along in the family...to Anika (Ed and Lindsey's little girl) and then Ava, Stephen and Preston (Alison and Stephen's triplets that will make their debut a few months from now). It'll be the 2nd item will be passing around in the family. The first was a lovely pair of rust colored moccasins that Nana Laurie gifted.

February

Birthdays-
This is a busy month in my family. We celebrate 3 birthdays- Ed ( my eldest brother), Mom, and Becky (my youngest sis). Generally, we try to coordinate all 3 into a one day celebration. Mom however, has gotten more difficult over the years to pin down for the day since she tends to avoid her birthday. So this year we got a bit sneaky and had some of the family just "show up" at our house to celebrate hers. We had told mom we needed her to watch Seth for a few hours while we went out to a show, knowing she wouldn't want to pass up the opportunity for Keith and I to have a "date nite" and to spend time with Seth. We kept it simple with just a reeses peanut butter ice cream cake, that I have to say DQ did an absolute great job on, it got devoured. Later in the month was a party for Ed and Becky's out at the Wade Manor in Roy. Sounds like the whole family was there and had a great time.

That very day, Keith and I were attending a funeral for a friend.

McGrath Family-
Keith has known the McGrath family for quite a few years. In fact they've basically dubbed him their sixth child. I was introduced to the McGrath Clan- Bob, Maurecia, Sarah, Josh, Jody, Rachael, and Casey while Keith and I were dating. Basically, if Maurecia (their mom) approved of me, Keith had her blessing. ha ha ha. I instantly loved the McGrath clan, who couldn't? They reminded me so much of my own family with their stories, sarcasm, and constant "ribbing" of one another. Oh and the food Maurecia can cook. She cooks meals like my mom, enough to "feed and Army". You'd pretty much need to with five kids. And baking? She bakes cookies that would put both Mrs. Fields and Martha Stewart to shame. I would see Bob here and there over the years due to our opposite schedules. Well actually Bob's schedule was pretty much opposite of anyone's- he worked the graveyard shift at the Postal Center on Air Cargo Road. Pretty much anytime we were visiting, Bob was heading out for work. I can say this now....Bob and I had the hardest time remembering each other's name. It was funny really, we'd be having a conversation and we'd look at one another like we were trying to recall and couldn't. I remember one time I was dropping off Maurecia's Tupperware that we had borrowed. Bob accepted the Tupperware when he answered the door and said "Jennifer right?" and I said "Yes, Bob?" and we both laughed really good at that one. I will always remember Bob with his ruddy little cheeks and the way he'd laugh anytime one of his kids said something funny....it was always as if he'd never heard anything so funny in all his life.
As I sat in the pew that day Saturday, February 27Th and listened to each of the readings his children had prepared, I cried for so many different reasons- for Maurecia and the loss of her husband, for the kids and the loss of their dad, for his relatives, and that thing we so often try so hard not to think about- death. It's so scary. Funerals are a celebration of the life that has passed and for those that live on. They tend to give us a sudden "reality" check if you will and remind you of what's important and how fragile life really is. Some things that kept being said that day were to appreciate what you have, tell those you love- you love them, and enjoy each day you have. Oddly enough- I heard that song on the radio later that day...I don't know the title or artist but it's lyrics are something like "we've got to live like we're dying". I heard the word "proud" used so many times that day. They have so much adoration for their dad. I truly know how they feel. I cried as I thought of my own family and how much I dearly love each one of them, how blessed I am to be part of their lives and families like the McGrath's, and then for my own extended family Keith and Seth.....Life is Truly Good! We'll miss you Bob!

Christmas

Whew! Where is the time going? I can't believe we've already flown past Halloween and Thanksgiving. The only two holiday festivities I got involved with prior to Christmas day was baking cookies with my girlfriends Christina and Renee and a stroll to the mall to help mom with her Christmas shopping. Tree? Nope. We never put ours up. It just seemed futile by the time Keith and I both had a day off together...it was already 10 days before Christmas. I just wasn't in the mood. For Christmas, but not the process....carols (finally listened to Christmas music on Christmas Day as we headed to dad's), decorating, or checking out the Christmas lights in nearby neighborhoods. I did get Seth in to see Santa. Santa visited the Dash Point Metropolitan Market where daddy works. Keith called to let us know Santa's sleigh had pulled up and to get right over and get a pic with Santa. Oh and what a good looking Santa he was. He held a smoking pipe ...a bit odd, but years from now...we'll all laugh at that one and think "who smokes anymore?" I was having a time trying to adjust my nicer camera due to dark lighting (posing outside the store)...so luckily I'd brought the smaller one for the video. About the time that I was aligned to take a photo....Seth went from complete compliance to outright screaming. It was precious because one of his dad's photos with Santa, was doing the same thing. People around me were trying to cheer him up in order for me to get a "better" photo, but I loved the one I got.

Christmas morning the 3 of us drove up to Dad and Laurie's for Christmas breakfast. It was absolutely delicious as usual. We had a few twist this year...It started at 0930am (normally it's 9am )Megan made the potatoe dish and Deb made a gluten free blueberry coffeecake- it was yum! I chipped in some Russian tea cakes. Not much, but they were buttery delicious. Seth got to visit with Great Grandma Betty and Edna, Auntie Debby, Uncle Don, Papa Hank, Nana Laurie, Cousins Drew, Megan and Megan's friend Chad. Afterwards, we headed south to visit with Keith's side of the family- Alice, Rich, Alicia, and Jessie. From there we dropped by mom's work to say a quick hello....here's where I step on on the infamous "soapbox". I was quite shocked at the number of people going into the grocery store...on Christmas Day! I watched in disbelief as a continuous stream of shoppers went from parking lot to store and vice versa.

NO ONE SHOULD HAVE TO WORK ON CHRISTMAS DAY. NO BUSINESS SHOULD BE OPEN. AND NO ONE SHOULD BE GOING INTO ANY ESTABLISHMENT. WHY? BECAUSE YOU ARE THE REASON PEOPLE HAVE TO WORK THE HOLIDAY- BECAUSE THEIR COMPANY LOOKS AT STATS AND THINKS THAT BEING OPEN IS JUSTIFIED BY PAST PURCHASES. YOU COULDN'T GET THIS DONE THE DAY BEFORE OR AFTER CHRISTMAS? SHAME ON YOU! AND IF YOU THINK PEOPLE SHOULD WORK THE HOLIDAY- THEN WHY DON'T YOU VOLUNTEER?! OH YOU'LL GLADLY TAKE THE DAY OFF, GET PAID, BUT YOU WOULDN'T WANT TO WORK! GEESH!

So to say the least, it disturbed me to see mom working as families came and went with silly purchases like papertowels, canned goods, $1 movies from the vending machines, and Keith's favorite one.....people were lined up and scratching off lotto game tickets as soon as they were purchased.

We tiredly headed home where Seth went to work on opening his abundacy of gifts, Keith and I exchanged Christmas stockings left by Santa, had take-out Teriaki that we had purchased THE DAY PREVIOUS, and relaxed.

More Milestones

Well Seth still detest "Tummy time" but he's been moving along in his milestones. This month he's been sitting up all by himself unsupported ( we do leave soft blankets and the bobby behind him just in case he tips over to the bare floors), he got his 2 bottom front teeth in in time for Christmas ("All I want for Christmas are my two front teeth..."), he's been babbling away sounds like Mah and Bah, he's fascinated with the "feel" of textures, and now....drum roll please.....starting to hold himself up in a standing position when supported. No crawling. Loves bouncing.