Fruit man and first time in a shopping cart:

Arlin loves fruit/food. I usually find him here:

 Deciding which fruit to eat first:

 Summer picnics have been a blessed way of sparing my home from fruit messes

 I roll him a fruit and keep painting (after oohing and aahhhing).

 

 Arlin's look of wonder as he rides in a shopping cart for the first time!

And then a look of pure joy:

The next day....

Swim class at Cottage Lake Pool

Elliott took a 2 week swim class at Cottage Lake Pool, "pike" level. 

It was the first time we had been to that pool and it closed for the season on August 29th, so we went as a family to the last 2 hours of their open swim. We'll be back next year :)

 

 Arlin, noodle-rider:

Elliott made a lot of progress in the 2 hours. We even saw his swim teacher on her rotation as one of the lifeguards so Elliott showed her his new skills of swimming with a noodle.

Dear Arlin (6 1/2 months)

Dear Arlin,
I am holding you on my lap, you are asleep and have been since 10:30 am; now it's 2:50 pm. Your two front teeth are coming in. I have seen large bulges on your gum line and now even your upperlip looks different. I thought your bottom teeth would be first because I could see little white spots below your gums for several months now. You have awoken twice, but fell back asleep when I fed you. I am happy to let you sleep, you need it and I am enjoying this break (even if you are still on my lap and I can't get anything done). Dad and Elliott are at church, I am in my church clothes and shoes waiting for you to wake up, but probably won't make it today.
  Lately, you have been very clingy and cry for me if I leave the room. We have traveled a lot in the last month and I am sure you have noticed your world feeling less secure. Yesterday, you started babbling (bababababa) and pulled yourself up to standing several times using the luggage I was unpacking. You officially crawl now on hands and knees and are extremely dexterous and strong. At Grandma Ka's house, you leaned out of my arms to grab hold of the inside of the refrigerator door as I opened it, and, standing on one shelf and hanging on to another, you balanced there alone with a huge grin. I laughed so hard admiring your feat and had to pry your monkey fingers from the shelf to hold you again.
  You love your brother, Elliott, but sadly, the reason you are sleeping so long is because he is gone; you don't get much chance to nap in peace.

Elliott's First Haircut

 He looks like a new boy. I almost cried, but it's good for kids to grow up.

Elliott update

Elliott is growing up before my eyes...I know every parent says that, but I'll join the chorus because it's true.

Elliott.....rolls all over the room looking for things to play with, squeals, plays with his voice and practices sounds, reaches for me when he wants to be held, and has started to copy things I do - mainly when I make buzzing/bubble noises with my mouth. When I do something he really likes, he smiles and gets excited and then I can almost see his little brain trying to get his mouth to follow suit, and lately he as been successful in copying.

Naked as a jaybird:

Getting tickled by Adam:

Hop on Pop:

Side show entertainment at a coffee shop while house hunting (we needed a tea break):

Blowing bubbles:

Nearly mobile:

tricks with dad:

Dad's home!

Cracking himself up:

Video of the new squeal:

January 3rd

We had a little IT situation at work and had to call in the lumber jack.

Today feels like a milestone of some kind. I only realized it this morning (I wasn't counting down the days, or anything) but today is the day that we first told people I was pregnant. We went to our first midwife appointment and then bought a Costco pizza and called our families to tell them the news. (It's also coming up on the anniversary of that crappy pedestrian ticket...).

I was 12 weeks along - kind of far along to tell family for the first time - but I'm thankful our families were and have been so supportive. Today also marks the day Bri's personal life changed in some ways, which got me thinking about her and put me in a reminiscent/longing mood. Even though there are still 4 months to April, right now I feel like that time will fly by and I will be facing her 1 year commemoration before I know it. So strange. I'm the type of person who remembers dates and events and notes the 1 month, 6 month, 1 year, etc milestones. I get this from my dad, who is the master reminiscer. For over a year, he would text me and Adam every month on our wedding anniversary day (the 8th) and mention something different that he remembered from that day. Before that, he used to call me every August to give a detailed account of what landmarks we had hiked through on our epic father-daughter JMT (John Muir Trail) backpack trip of 2003. Suffice it to say, between now and May, there will be a million things to commemorate about Bri.

The interesting thing is that it won't be only about Bri, but Elliott, too. It's a happy and sad connection they will have since Elliott was born 3 months after Briana died. Whatever age Elliott is, it will have been that long since Briana died. I'm going to think of it as a gift to have that reminder.

I miss her so much and sometimes still can't believe she is gone. I have mixed feelings about the amount of time that has passed since I last saw her.

On a related topic, I felt like a mom today. A happy mom - a quiet, diligent, fulfilled mom for various reasons. I went to work with Elliott and made some progress on Cortinarius research. When I am there, I hold Elliott the entire time, or briefly set him on the table. It is physically taxing (obviously) but also enjoyable. Today, I remarked at how patient he was to be there for 6 hours. He gets bored with the lab surroundings because his favorite thing is to see new things. He loves new things! Elliott is also a pretty happy boy, most people who meet him comment on his abounding joy. He thrills himself by smiling, giggling and squealing.

Another reason I felt like a happy mom is that I am slowly shifting they way I get Elliott to sleep and he is adapting well. Previously, I would breastfeed him to sleep and then sneak away, but it appeared he thought it was wrong to sleep without me in his mouth and would jolt awake and root around for me even though he was exhausted. Now, he sleeps in his little bed and appears to love it. I get him sleepy with milk, low lights, and a song and then put him in his basket. He looks around, notices it's his bed and then goes back to sleep. I love the freedom this gives me to sleep better and I'm happy he also likes it.

Another reason I felt like a mom is that I made myself an appointment at the Center for Women's health for a pelvic floor exam - time to take care of my body.

I am also eating better. We bought a Champion juicer on craigslist and have been flooding our bodies with veggie vitamins! I feel great. Except for the mysterious itchiness on my chest (sugar hives?) I've had for 2 weeks.

Happy New Year!