Miss Sadie

I never did blog about our brand new baby daughter. She caught me by surprise as I had been expecting her to be a boy. In fact, I entered into marriage believing (and accepting) that I would only ever have sons. I came to this conclusion based on my husband's family history that is predominantly male...one uncle even had 7 sons and 1 daughter. I called the baby "he" all during pregnancy and it took a few days after she was born for my husband and sons to get used to saying "she" and "her." We didn't spend much time on choosing a girl's name because I truly felt we wouldn't need it. In hindsight, I wish we had, but now our Sadie Loise is in our arms and she has been an amazing blessing already.

She was born on her due date, in the afternoon, just as I had dared to hope. She weighed 8 pounds even and came complete with a full head of dark hair. She immediately reminded me of her older brothers, who adore her. They both love to give Sadie hugs and kisses several times a day. Levi already tries to teach her things such as how to share and play with toys. He's a thoughtful and doting big brother. Ian has learned the rules of not feeding the baby or pushing her carseat. Sadie miraculously sleeps through most of their noisiness during the day and they, even more miraculously, sleep through her screaming fits at night.

Sadie has been a great sleeper from the get-go. In fact, it was hard to wake her long enough for feedings in the beginning. She still naps most of the day away and sleeps for 4-hour stretches through the night. Normally when she wakes up she doesn't cry. She just stretches, looks around and quietly waits for someone to notice her. Sometimes I catch her smiling at her own joke. But more often she smiles wildly when we talk to her. And then she talks back and makes the cutest little faces. She's too precious! God is so good to make babies so cute. I'm trying to enjoy every minute of her, which isn't hard, but I still feel like I just can't get enough baby-loving until she will be grown up and out of this stage.

Farm Review

On September 5--hubby's 31st birthday--we took another "vacation" day. This time we visited Lake Metroparks Farmpark in Kirtland. The weather was beautiful and the setting was perfect for two little boys and a stroller. First we watched Mickey the cow get milked and Levi even tried his hand at milking her. Then we watched as all the children cranked the handle on the homemade icecream maker. It took so long we didn't wait around to try the finished product but I'm pretty sure it would've been the best we've ever tasted. Levi and Ian's favorite part of the day was watching the electric train go 'round and 'round the track outside. We also took a tractor ride out to a huge corn maze and watched an informative presentation about sheep. We didn't have time for everything but the park is small enough that another hour or two would've done the trick. When the boys are older I'm sure they will be interested in more things--maybe even taking a pony ride or feeding some of the animals. In addition to the cows, horses and sheep, they have pigs, goats, llamas, alpacas, rabbits and chickens. I'm sure this park will be on our list of annual spots to visit for many more years to come.

Summer Review

This summer, with a new baby and all, we never made it anywhere for vacation. So we've been trying to do special things around here, one day at a time. Yesterday we toured the NASA Glenn Visitor Center. I'm glad it occurred to me to visit there because as I was researching our trip I found out it is slated to close at the end of the year. We thought Levi would love seeing the rockets and all things astronomical but it turns out he's an even bigger fraidy cat than we thought. He was even scared during the astronaut movie which he was only able to watch securely anchored to daddy's lap. We wondered around the exhibits for about an hour, viewed the 20-minute movie and then bought freeze-dried ice cream as a treat. After that we ate our picnic lunch in a pavilion at the Metroparks during a light rain.

Last weekend we visited the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center in nearby Bay Village. A great day weatherwise, the boys thoroughly enjoyed inspecting the outdoor grounds and meeting the animals inside. We even played in Critter Corner for a while. We wanted to view the planetarium show but Ian wasn't old enough to go so we'll save that for another time. The science center offers educational programs throughout the year which I'd like to take advantage of. They even hold a pre-school that I was considering for Levi but the $15 per hour rate is a bit hefty for us.

Polar Bear Days

We visited Cleveland Metroparks Zoo for one of its January Polar Bear Days. This means that whenever the high temperature for the day is forecasted to be less than 32 degrees F, zoo admission tickets are half price! First we explored the rain forest, where the temperature is always 80-something. We ate our picnic lunch in the Crocodile Cafe. Then we caught the heated shuttle bus up to the primate building for a look at the big cats and fish. By then it was nap time so we headed home. The boys were especially impressed with the apes. One big gorilla stared Levi down and frightened him so much that he started walking backwards away from the glass. Ian yelled, "Monkey, scared!" Many of the zoo's exhibits are closed for the winter but you can still see wolves and of course, polar bears. The zoo is reconstructing the elephants' home into a huge open area similar to where the zebras and giraffes now reside. Today at lunch Levi declared that he had a plan: "Every Saturday let's go to the zoo!"

20 Weeks

I'm 2 days away from being halfway through my pregnancy--yahoo! Tomorrow is the BIG ultrasound. I'll post if there is any big news and maybe a picture or two. Next week I'll find out if I've gained the 5 pounds that I think I have. We don't have a scale so I just have to wait.

Ian's 2-year birthday is right around the corner. To prove what a big boy he is, on Friday he peed in the potty! He hasn't done it since, but I still have hope that he will be trained before the next baby arrives. If there is any time between when Ian gets trained and #3 is born, it will be the first time in 4.25 years that we won't be changing diapers!

Levi is enjoying his winter line-up of activities...On Tuesdays he goes to the library for storytime and crafts. On Wednesdays I go to a ladies Bible study while he enjoys playtime with another boy his age. On Thursdays we go to the recreation center for gym time & swimming lessons. Sunday brings Sunday school, of course, and Awana Cubbies in the evening. He's starting to recognize letters as we drive around, and he points and yells about them in the store. We're still debating about sending him to pre-school in the fall or just waiting for kindergarten.

Next month I'm planning to accompany DH on a business trip to Florida. I'm so excited! It's going to be a short trip but I'm looking forward to quality time with my hubby and alone time while he's at his seminar during the day. Here's hoping the boys will sleep for Grandma M!

Good-bye 2008

I am a bad blogger. I guess that much is obvious. So, Obummer is the president-select. I still hold a glimmer of hope that the SCOTUS will do its job and define "natural born" once and for all and that Mr. Kewl will not qualify...but I suppose that's just pie in the sky.

On a more cheery note, baby #3 is on the way. I am almost 15 weeks along now. Things have been going great and sometimes I even forget for a minute that I am prego. My next midwife appointment is in 2 weeks. I will probably have an ultrasound around 20 weeks but we've decided not to find out the gender this time. Just trying something different. If we have a boy, of course I have all the clothes and toys we need. If we have a girl, my sister in law has promised me the use of her daughter's clothes that have been very gently used, if at all.

Oh, and on another cheery note...my hubby has been verbally offered a position on a cancer research grant when he graduates. We will be staying right here on Detroit Rd for at least another 2 years and finally be living above poverty level! God has been very good to take care of us during all these years of school and to provide the promise of employment 8 months before it is even needed.

As it is December 31, I officially bid farewell to 2008 and welcome in the new year on my blog. Cheers, everyone!

What is racism?

I know it's considered racist not to vote for someone solely on the basis of their skin color. But, is it also racist to vote for a person solely on the basis of their skin color? Consider this statement from a supposedly conservative black talk show host regarding Barack Obama: "I don't necessarily like his policies; I don't like much that he advocates, but for the first time in my life, history thrusts me to really seriously think about it," Armstrong Williams said. "I can honestly say I have no idea who I'm going to pull that lever for in November. And to me, that's incredible." To me, that's not only incredible, it's racist! It means putting race ahead of common sense and your own convictions, as well as discriminating against a more highly qualified candidate of a different color. People should be judging candidates on the merits of how well they match up with their own beliefs, not on skin color (unless two candidates are equal in every way except race.) Until everyone starts doing that, I think this country is still racist.