life is full of good moments around here lately. here are the two loves of my life together at our saturday morning breakfast out on the town – a nice meal on a cafe patio right before the rain hit and brought fall with it. i love the change from summer to autumn, even when i can feel a bit of melancholy set into my spirit. our summer has been fun and full of outings, exploring, and learning new things.
alex has been soaking up knowledge and skills like a sponge. she has a number of words, with the main ones being: dog, cat, doll, paw, caw-caw (for birds), daddy, mama, hi, ball. those are just the ones we can discern. she talks constantly, when she isn’t singing. she’s definitely continuing to grow an appreciation for music, and sings, dances and plays keyboards whenever she can. she is cutting down to one nap a day, but generally is sleeping pretty well. she loves to be around people, although she likes other people the best when i’m also there. right now, she’s in a stage where she can play independently for longish periods of time, but also has longish periods of time where she wants to be as physically close to me as possible, which often entails climbing onto my lap and wrapping herself around my neck.
she does like to climb, and is pretty good at going up and down stairs. the one thing she is still hesitant to do is walk. she can do it with us holding one of her hands, but just isn’t taking steps by herself. i wish she’d just do it already, but i’m not too worried about it. she’s still within the normal range, and i know that when she decides to walk, she will, and will probably master it very quickly. she seems to be very deliberate about things that she does – not fearful, but observant and purposeful in her actions…

one big milestone that is happening next week is her first hospital stay since birth. some of you know that alex was born with a condition called vesicoureteral reflux, which was diagnosed in december/january, after she had two urinary tract infections. it essentially means that her ureters are attached to her bladder in such a way that it pushes (or refluxes) her urine back into her kidneys. normally, that would be fine, but if she has an infection in her urine, it can infect her kidneys and damage them. most children who have this reflux outgrow it by the age of 4 or 5, and it is managed with daily antibiotics to prevent UTIs. however, alex has continued to have infections, so she is having surgery next week to correct the reflux – they will be unattaching her ureters and reattaching them to her bladder in the correct position. the surgery is 99% effective in fixing the reflux, which is great news. also, her urologist at children’s hospital does the procedure multiple times in a week, so intellectually i’m fine with it, but of course there is emotional anxiety that comes and goes. i’m very thankful that we have people who are stepping up to care for us through prayer and food (always a good combo!), and my mom is coming to stay with us for a few days. alex will be in the hospital for two days and nights. if you’re a pray-er, we would really appreciate your prayers for the surgery and the recovery, and also that her kidneys have not already been damaged by her recurring infections. i’m really looking forward to the day when the reflux is a distant memory, when she doesn’t have to take antibiotics every day, and when she doesn’t have to get a catheter to check her urine whenever she has a fever. in the grand scheme of sick children, her experience has been relatively minor, and i’m so thankful for that, but it has definitely had its rough days.
so, that’s the big news around here. i’ll leave you with one last shot of my favorite people…

here we are, in what i think may be our very first family portrait since alex was born(!), at matthew and sarah jo’s wedding last weekend in dallas, texas. sadly, i don’t really have a picture of them at the wedding yet, but my brother was very handsome, and my new sister was stunning. our family is gaining a wonderful addition, and matthew is gaining a great partner for his life. (as is she!) my dad did a solid job of officiating the ceremony, and we all got to enjoy bbq and ice cream under white-lit trees in the twilight. so lovely.

of course, due to the demands of getting ready for their wedding and also unexpectedly moving in the middle of it all, we didn’t actually get to spend much time with matt and sarah jo, but we did get to have fun with my parents. daniel, alex and i flew in on thursday, and spent the evening eating waffle house carry-out in our hotel room and going to bed early because we were exhausted after traveling all day. but friday morning, mom and dad came to our hotel and alex and i joined them on a spontaneous trip to the national cowgirl museum in fort worth. the fort worth version of COSI is currently housing some exhibits in the cowgirl museum due to remodeling, and we got into the whole thing for free with our COSI membership reciprocal admission benefits. yay! dad played with alex in the kids’ playspace while mom and i browsed the cowgirl exhibits and then we all headed back to their hotel to clean up for the wedding rehearsal and dinner, where we met up with daniel. we got to meet matthew’s new in-laws, who are kind and welcoming, as are matthew’s texas friends.

on saturday, daniel and i hopped into our rental car with alex to explore dallas. here is where we need some help for future trips, because i have to admit that we struggled to find things that were interesting and creative. i’m sure that there have to be lovely parts of dallas aside from shiny malls, but it seemed liked we just saw a lot of concrete and run-downedness. we did venture into deep ellum, a neighborhood that i had heard was alternative and artsy, but i have a feeling that it is more vibrant at night than on a saturday afternoon. we found a pretty cool cafe there, but it’s motto was “all-good cafe – it’s like going to austin without having to drive through waco.” um, i wasn’t sure what to think about a place who’s biggest draw was being like another city. hmm. so, please, if you know and love dallas, where do we need to go the next time?

alex did an excellent job of going with the flow, being charming and making new friends. the biggest problem was that she went to bed late every night and ended up co-sleeping with me in one of the beds (can’t cry it out in a hotel room with neighbors on either side, and this girl wasn’t going to stay in a crib when she could see mama and daddy right there!), and didn’t do great during the ceremony babysitting, but she was a real trooper!

overall, it was a good trip, and i can’t wait to make memories with my brother and his wife. welcome to our family, sarah jo!

i stumbled across this article in the new york times this morning, and found it to pretty profound. it is about taking responsibility for our own emotions and giving others the space to do so as well, and how, sometimes, the best way to fight for your marriage is by refusing to fight. i have a feeling that if more people took the approach of this writer, maybe the divorce rate would not be quite as high.

we’ve had a couple of weeks of fighting illness here, and i’m pretty sure that alex is going to break out in a roseola rash today or tomorrow, so i’m keeping her home from church today and am taking some sabbath rest for myself while she naps. hello, internet and second cup of coffee!
the past few days, alex has really been having fun with play food. she got these cute cupcakes for her birthday, and i found some great wooden food on clearance this week for about $3. she’s really getting into pretend eating, and i can’t wait until she is ready to play with a play kitchen. while something like this is certainly lovely, i somehow can’t justify spending as much on a play kitchen as i would on a real stove. so, i’m looking for ideas on making my own, and here are a few of my favorites:
easiest and most likely for me to make
very cute, and i might give it a try
pretty cool ikea hack
super-cute one make from found items and scraps
inspiration for filling the cupboards

what are you dreaming of making?

100_1296

Originally uploaded by amy joy

well, i had a lovely, long post all about how nice the franklin county fair was this afternoon, albeit not nearly as grand as my hometown fair (which unless my memory is really faulty, is more along the scale of the ohio state fair in size and scope), but then my computer lost power, and i lost the post, so you are left with this adorable picture of alex watching the baby bears, which she liked, but not as much as she loved the cows, which she found to be hilarious. she has also recently started mooing, but with her mouth closed, so she actually sounds kind of like a real cow, and did a lot of practicing today. another highlight was her very first pony ride – she loved it until she didn’t, and then made an early exit off of the saddle and into my arms. and, like her mama, she was a little greaked out by the chickens, but adored all of the four-legged animals. oh – she also likes gyros better than funnel cakes.

overall, it was lovely and relaxing, and i would go back again anytime. for now, though, it’s off to clean up and go to bed. sweet dreams, dear ones!

100_1296

Originally uploaded by amy joy

well, i had a lovely, long post all about how nice the franklin county fair was this afternoon, albeit not nearly as grand as my hometown fair (which unless my memory is really faulty, is more along the scale of the ohio state fair in size and scope), but then my computer lost power, and i lost the post, so you are left with this adorable picture of alex watching the baby bears, which she liked, but not as much as she loved the cows, which she found to be hilarious. she has also recently started mooing, but with her mouth closed, so she actually sounds kind of like a real cow, and did a lot of practicing today. another highlight was her very first pony ride – she loved it until she didn’t, and then made an early exit off of the saddle and into my arms. and, like her mama, she was a little greaked out by the chickens, but adored all of the four-legged animals. oh – she also likes gyros better than funnel cakes.

overall, it was lovely and relaxing, and i would go back again anytime. for now, though, it’s off to clean up and go to bed. sweet dreams, dear ones!

100_1296

Originally uploaded by amy joy

well, i had a lovely, long post all about how nice the franklin county fair was this afternoon, albeit not nearly as grand as my hometown fair (which unless my memory is really faulty, is more along the scale of the ohio state fair in size and scope), but then my computer lost power, and i lost the post, so you are left with this adorable picture of alex watching the baby bears, which she liked, but not as much as she loved the cows, which she found to be hilarious. she has also recently started mooing, but with her mouth closed, so she actually sounds kind of like a real cow, and did a lot of practicing today. another highlight was her very first pony ride – she loved it until she didn’t, and then made an early exit off of the saddle and into my arms. and, like her mama, she was a little greaked out by the chickens, but adored all of the four-legged animals. oh – she also likes gyros better than funnel cakes.

overall, it was lovely and relaxing, and i would go back again anytime. for now, though, it’s off to clean up and go to bed. sweet dreams, dear ones!

there is a movie preview that i first saw a few weeks ago, and it immediately gave me the chills, as it has every time it comes on television since then. “orphan” appears to be a psychological horror film about a family who adopt a girl from an orphanage only to have her turn into some sort of violent villian. although i’m sure that it is only intended to be entertainment, i’m really discouraged by the potential it has to reinforce negative stereotypes about adoption of older children and about adoptive children being “damaged goods”…so i was happy when an old college friend provided this link to “orphans deserve better.” please take a few minutes to look around their site – get some education about the facts of adoption, and if you feel so inclined, sign the simple petition asking the producers of “orphan” to give some of their profits to aid real-life orphans.

IMG_1339

Originally uploaded by amy joy

ok – it’s been three weeks since alex’s birthday, and it’s about time for me to make sure i document some things about her at one glorious year old:

…she is a sweet, sweet girl who likes to laugh. she is pretty social, and waves hello to anyone and any animal. she also sometimes waves to the trees, bushes and parking lots.

she loves music and has a particular knack for percussion. (like her dad) she perks up immediately and dances with any song that has a catchy beat, even if it’s just a short commercial. she seems to be developing a like for reggae, and she will turn anything into a drum.

she loves animals – especially cats. she spends a lot of time chasing the cat and dog, and calling most things “cat.” her other words include “mama,” “dada,” and “baba.”

she has this funny, sneaky grin when she’s about to do something that she knows will get her redirected – like trying to eat the dog food.

she thinks being tickled is hilarious.

she has no fear of dirt and mess.

she likes to be outside.

she can be very serious when she is observing a new situation. one friend once said that alex seemed to be looking into her soul.

she is taking her sweet time with walking independently, like she did with crawling. but she does like to push her walking toy.

she eats almost anything we give her. her favorite foods include soy yogurt, chicken and tofu.

she has totally turned our lives upside down, and i wouldn’t trade it for anything.

enjoy this footage from one year ago today. (no, i will not post alex’s birth day video every year, but i’m feeling nostalgic!)