Visitors

It has been a whirlwind here of fun here in casa McSpeert.  Laura arrived the day prior to Henry's arrival and just made everything go.  She made curtains for Elizabeth's room, carted E around town, baked goodies galore, cleaned my house, moved a houseful of furniture to accommodate our changing of rooms,  and brought me to the hospital but first brought me to have a pedicure.  My legs were the size of tree trunks so at least my toes would look good.

Laura was the first person (outside of Jeff) to hold Henry just as mom was the first one to hold Elizabeth.  Laura handed him to me to breast feed just as mom handed me Elizabeth.  A perfect moment again!


We dream of having Laura move to Seattle.  We prod and annoy her to try to get her to move to Seattle.  We have succumb to bribery.  Thus far we have continued to fail but we shall not concede defeat.

Bill and cousin Kathryn arrived next and made a difficult week loads of fun.  It was an enormous weight off my shoulders just to know that Elizabeth was having the time of her life.  It allowed me to focus on the little man and figure out our new life together.  Kathryn is truly a dreamy little girl.  Alison came over one afternoon when they were here and she put it perfectly by saying 'Don't we want our girls to grow up as sweet and engaging as Kathryn'.  Yes we do and this is why Jeff and I often turn to Bill and Lisa for parenting advice.  They have most certainly done it right!

Virginia arrived the day Bill and Kathryn left.  I managed to not get a single photo of Virginia while she was here probably because I was keeping her busy the entire time.  It was great to pass her Henry and spend a bit more time focused on Elizabeth.  I was missing my little girl for sure!  There is no hope that Virginia will move to Seattle but it is very reassuring that one phone call and she will be here in a moment.  She is our family.

Notice the double chin.  He was born with a double chin!!

And what was happening the week before he came??

Napping (I was out and had no idea photos were taken)

More napping.  

Long walks in the heat trying to induce labor.

Realization that he was gonna be a biggin'!!

Henry Keel Speert

Our sweet enormous hunk of a boy, Henry Keel Speert, was born yesterday weighing in at a gorgeous 9 pounds 11 ounces. 

He is named after some remarkable people in our lives and our hope is that this legacy will give him strength in life.  Kathleen's maternal grandfather was Henry and her mom, the last of four girls, was given the name of Henriette.  In high school she was actually called Hank by friends due to her tough tomboy nature.  She was an avid small boat sailor spending summers in the lakes of Iowa in her boat called 'Buoy Crazy'. His first name also comes from Jeff's paternal grandfather, Herman. Herman had an amazing sense of humor, was playful, generous and entrepreneurial. He was the grandparent Jeff spent the most time with and they had a very close and jovial relationship.

His middle name, Keel, is after our dear friend Keely who passed away this June.  The 'keel' is the underside part of a boat that traditionally was built first during construction. It provides the stabilization and strength that prevents capsizing. Jeff brought this to me and said 'isn't that just what Keely did for all of us'.  Her message to us all to be gentle, to be kind and to live life came from a glorious place of strength. She lived this message.

I hope our son is kind, gentle, strong and full of life.

Pops at work again

Pops was here visiting and once again we put him to work.  The garden was the focus and he managed to weed and clean and prune until he left.  

This allowed Jeff to focus on the basement remodel and me to spend time with Elizabeth.

With the approach of my due date Elizabeth has become my little shadow and requests me for all activities.  She is old enough to realize that all will change when this little man arrives and she is getting every moment with me that is possible.  I can't say that I really mind though as she is one fun pal to have around.

One photo from camping

Went camping this weekend and these were the only photos taken.  Elizabeth on the pot with Daddies shoes.  Above she is literally saying "Why are you taking a photo when I'm making a poop?"  Our answer "Cause we are silly parents."  

"That is true" she replied.

Live life and be kind

This week our dear friend Keely died which is hard to grasp because she was so full of life.  Just this past weekend she was visiting friends at the beach and having brunch with the gang.  She fought against using pain meds because she didn't want to be 'druged out' and miss anything.  Life was for living and damn if she wasn't going to live each moment that was left.  I have never seen anyone embrace life as she has.

Elizabeth knew her as the gal who always had candy.  She loved to see Keely walk in the door cause she knew chocolate and sweets were at hand.

Her sister Cory, mom Doris and husband Andy gave such a gift to her close friends by allowing us to share these final days and hours with them.  The end was as she would of liked.  There was laughter, kind gentle supportive love and of course good food and wine.

She worked so hard to prepare each of us for these next steps without her.  Be kind, be gentle and live the heck out of life!!

Annual Anniversary photo

Every year we take a family photo on the beach where we were married.  We are happier today then we were six years ago.  I suppose that is the goal.  Life is good.

2010

2009

2008

2006

Ballet Performance

 Elizabeth has been in a ballet class this year and today was her end of year 'performance'.  Really they just placed chairs in the class room and parents were able to watch.  I am amazed with how her teacher keeps 10 kiddos focused and moving together for an hour.  To make it even more impressive she does this ALL day long.

 Parents were given the opportunity to also dance with the kids.  Jeff and Elizabeth weren't really doing any ballet and instead opted for a more improvisational style.

Of course there was a nice bow at the end.  The icing on the cake was the teacher gave each of the students a rose with a personal note.  I must have read that card to her 10 times today.


One quick unrelated comment about our day.  Due to my changing size I desperately needed to do some clothes shopping which I don't really enjoy at the best of times.  I told Elizabeth we were going to the mall for a bit.  "Whats the Mall" she asked.  Like I said I don't really shop much and never at the mall.
We get there and she was MESMERIZED!  She kept saying "It is so big.  Look how big it is and it is all connected."  She asked if Jeff knows about this place and then could not wait to tell him all about it this evening.
Don't worry, it is not like I am anti shopping.  She definitely knows all about REI.

Little mommy in practice

 I realize that with Elizabeth's pregnancy we spent so much time dreaming about what she would be like, what we would be like as parents, how our lives would change, and preparing ourselves for taking care of a new little person.  Not to mention actually actively changing our lives to prepare for her (crib, childbirth classes, new baby room, new jobs to support child, etc).
This pregnancy is vastly different because we view it now through her eyes.  How is she going to change with a sibling, is she excited and are we preparing her well enough for this new little person.  Well she is EXCITED.  She loves breast feeding her babies and you can often find a doll shoved under her shirt.  "My belly is getting biiiggg"  she will say.

She will grab my belly and tell the baby what ever might be happening at the moment "I'm all wet from the shower, can you smell my hair?"... "Can you see my new pretty dress!!".  She drags this breast feeding pillow throughout the house just in case her baby gets hungry.  She is fun!

Camping

Spring has sprung and camping has begun.  We actually had SEVEN weekends in a row with NO rain.  We went to Leavenworth for a long weekend of camping.  It is a  place where previously we have done tons of climbing and returning there always makes us a bit nostalgic for those times.  

 We did manage some hiking despite each of us carrying a kid.  Elizabeth even hiked about an hour of it her own which is great at three years old.

 It is fun to hear her thoughts about camping and nature.  She told us that the loud river sounds like buffalos.  She points out the deciduous versus conifer trees and loves to carry a pocket full of rocks, sticks, pine cones.  As she leaves the trail she will empty out our pockets full of treasures cause 'we have to leave it for the next hiker to enjoy'.

Today the rain returned but I'm not complaining.  The great weather has allowed early camping trips and constant playing outdoors.

I have a great job!

Those who don't work in pediatric oncology often comment 'Isn't it so sad' No... 'How do you work there?' because these little people are larger in all ways than most adults I've known.

Well it is not always sad and this video is why I work there.  Are ya jealous of my job now??  You should be cause these kids rock!  Not to mention the awesome staff who might need some dance lessons though. HA!

Life has been busy and we have been focused on enjoying this busy life and have not blogged or really taken many photos.  

Elizabeth's language and imagination have exploded.  She will literally spend thirty minutes telling us a tale within her world of imagination.  I don't even know where she comes up with some of the vocabulary she uses.  

We are partially to blame for her whacked out mind bending tales.  Each night we read three books and tell two stories.  Originally these stories were summaries of days past or days to come but have now evolved to what she calls 'stories I have not heard in a whhhilllle'.  This means a made up, silly story that is outrageous and funny.  I tell you it is a challenge to come up with two new stories EVERY NIGHT.  Every once in a while you are allowed to repeat one that she particularly likes but that is not often.  

Below are a few photos we have managed to take the past month of so....

She still cuddles.  Thank goodness.

41st Birthday celebration back east.

Riggor... the only dog Elizabeth likes.  Mostly cause Riggor does not lick.  Fair enough.

This is her performing a 10 minute song and dance routine for relatives.  It was only 10 minutes cause I cut her short

Kathryn comes!

Kathryn flew to Seattle on her 9th birthday by herself! We were all very excited to have her arrive and thrilled to know that she loved the solo flying. Were not sure what we would have done if it had gone badly as she was going to have to return in a few days.

They slept together in the bunk bed and the first night neither really slept well as both were beyond excited. I checked in on them at 11pm and found Kathryn asleep and Elizabeth just sitting awake. Around 3am Kathryn woke and colored for an hour or so before finally passing out again.

Kathryn loved reading to her at night and it was so cute watching them cuddled together. One morning while playing in the room they came upon the books that grandma recorded. They both sat together listening while Jeff and I teared up in the hallway.

We spent the next few days running them ragged and both passed out for naps and bedtime. There was a Purim fair with face painting, bouncy machines and crafts.

We also spent tons of time just playing around the house and yard although Kathryn deemed Seattle 'FREEZING'.
I hope these girls continue to find a friendship as the years pass. I love thinking of them together as adults sharing their lives.

Just a Day

She is just fun. She is our little buddy. She has funny things to say. We need to be better about recording this time as it is just sailing by so fast. We have also been slack about taking photos lately so today when the sun broke we headed out to capture the afternoon.
She still has fun ways of saying things.

Poop - poey poey

Beginning of something is referred as end (she just can't get this right but somehow uses 'end' appropriately)

Elizabes, basroom, kashleen - the 'th' is not happening

She has two imaginary friends. She doesn't really play with them but talks about them frequently. Alecea and Josie. Josie is a boy. We don't know anyone with these names. Just something she came up with in her little head. Often times she will report that Josie has taken something from her or has forgotten to share. She wants me to intervene. I remind her that she has a strong voice and can tell Josie herself.

My mom also had an imaginary friend whose name was Simra. I love that Elizabeth is following in her lead.
She has a couple of funny noises. When she eats something she really likes she will hum and hum and hum throughout the meal (my mom also did this).

Elizabeth also has what we call her 'thinking' noise. It is hard to describe but sort of like a blowing of air through her teeth. She makes this whenever she is concentrating or deeply involved in an activity. She has actually made both these noises since infancy. I hope they don't go away but I imagine it may get annoying to others when taking the SAT.

At the end of our photos today she then sat quietly and fed her baby for quite some time. As she will say "I am such a good little mommie". I hope I am also.