It took about nineteen months, but I am pleased to report Lena can walk.
She was moving all over the place today when I got home and she was walking all day. This is big.
She has been taking small steps for a while and walking while holding onto things. This is her progress on April 17th.
Here she is a month later.
I will miss her scooting, but it I am proud she has the confidence to walk.
Good job Lean Bean.
TJC
{ 1 comment }
After the boys got out of the bath tonight Quinn asked me for the thermometer. I asked him why and he replied, “I want to know if I am too hot because I am darker than Reece.”
I told Quinn he wasn’t sick, but he had darker skin and gets tanned like his momma. Reece has lighter skin like his dad and gets burned. I told him he was lucky and that pale is beautiful (in certain Northern European countries.)
TJC
{ 0 comments }
Our little buddy Quinn is now six. I cannot believe that he has been in our lives for six years. It really does go by quickly.
We celebrated his birthday with the Verhaalens and Seekers at a goat farm in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Jenny and Gretchen were running a marathon in La Crosse, the boys their own races and a goat farm looked like a fun place to stay.
It was a very fun place to stay. Rainbow Ridge Farms is a bed & breakfast that serves eggs taken from the coop outside and goatmilk french toast. It did not disappoint.
We saw lots of goats. Quinn’s favorite was Magic, a nubian kid, he called “floppy ears.”
They had lots of farm cats.
The innkeeper’s rule was if a cat jumps in your car it is yours. We pulled a few cats out of our car when she wasn’t looking.
The pigs weren’t as mobile. They had it pretty good and Reece liked checking in on them.
They had chickens, ducks and lots of puddles.
The farm does a lot with 4-H, so they had plenty of boots to wear. Reece liked his cat boots.
These fit and we got past the pink issue because they were cat boots. He wanted his picture taken in the circle.
On Saturday, we started the racing part of the weekend. The boys ran 100 yard dashes along the Mississippi River.
Reece, Quinn, Travis and Jack were in the same heat. Travis won and finished by looking back and jumping over the finish line. Ronald McDonald, the official starter, was impressed.
Quinn is in the middle of the the above shot. Reece was behind him running hard.
Each runner got a race shirt and a medal. It is reported that Reece bowed after he received his medal. He is extremely proud of it.
They also got a cowbell to cheer people on with.
After the races and naps it was time to party.
We had a pasta feast with tiramisu on Angry Birds plates.
Quinn loves Angry Birds and he got lots of Angry Birds presents.
On Sunday, we went to watch Jenny and Gretchen run. There was severe weather that morning, so their marathon turned into a half-marathon.
Still impressive.
After the race we did some sightseeing.
This is on top of Granddad Bluff. You can see three states.
Then we went to a dam and lock where we got a picture of all the cousins.
We also saw a lot of freight trains. The tracks along the Mississippi are busy. The kids thought it was awesome.
It was awesome and loud. We are used to loud, so it wasn’t bad.
We finished off with a nice dinner back in La Crosse.
We had a fun time. We milked goats, helped on a working farm and in Reece’s case felt threatened by a chicken.
He thought it was a turkey and was scared because the “turkey” wouldn’t let him leave the boot room. Reece is back home with us now, so take that turkey.
Happy Birthday Quinner!
TJC
{ 1 comment }
This is what I saw in my rear view mirror as we drove home from the doctor.
Reece and Quinn now have strep throat and the rest of us are waiting for more results. No one feels good.
Now when Reece says, “I’m Batman.” It is extra raspy.
TJC
{ 1 comment }
Reece has a tie to the oldest living member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Neither Reece or Bobby Doerr know that, but I do.
I was happy to see a picture of Bobby Doerr taking part in Fenway’s 100th anniversary.
Bobby Doerr on far right with Tim Wakefield
Bobby Doerr was #1 when he played with the Red Sox and his number has been retired at Fenway for a long time.
Bobby Doerr lived much of his life along a remote stretch of the Rogue River in Oregon. Reece was born in Medford, which is on a not-so-remote stretch of the same river.
The former second baseman was best friends with Dom DiMaggio, Johnny Pesky and Ted Williams. They spent a lot of time fishing in Southern Oregon. It is chronicled in the great book The Teammates by David Halberstam.
On April 7, 2008 the state of Oregon celebrated Bobby Doerr day. I convinced my boss to let me cover the story from afar.
I didn’t get to meet Bobby Doerr, but I will always remember him. Just as I was finishing the story Jenny called. She was in labor.
Reece arrived a few hours later. Born 90 years to the day after Bobby Doerr.
TJC
{ 0 comments }
Lena and Jenny are a good pair. Jenny likes dressing her up in nice outfits and Lena is always quick with a smile.
They are also thrill-Seekers.
Please don’t all nominate us for Parents of the Year at once.
They also deal with sudden onsets of crazy hair.
Lena is still growing her hair in, so hopefully this won’t be a problem in the future.
TJC
{ 1 comment }