At the Hogans

Marcy has watched Sam alot lately as our fall schedules have been crazy (rotations, residency interviews, tutoring, helping out at Ethan's preschool).  He loves Marcy and screams when she leaves the room.  He also loves ripping the decorations off their walls, scaling the couch to reach the Shelf of Forbidden Items, opening and closing the printer, and playing with their dust buster.  All in a day's work.

I always get a few darling pics of Sam after a day at the Hogan household.  Usually in costume.

Behold.

  

They talk and it is funny and cute.

Ethan has come up with some real linguistic gems in the last few days.

• "I'm not going to be a doctor when I grow up.  I'm going to be Batman."
• On proper placement of temporary tattoos on the back of the hand: "Don't put it on my 'nickels' (knuckles) or it will get damaged!"
• On ideal procedure for getting a real tattoo: "They should mix sleeping medicine in with the ink so when they poke it in, you fall asleep and don't feel any pain."  Future anesthesiologist?
• On the status of a rash: "It completely vanished today!"
• Absorbed in play, Ethan voices his action figures.  A muscular lifeguard says to his trusty ladder: "Mr. Ladder, I was worried you were gone forever."  Mr. Ladder replies: "Don't worry, I always come home."

Sam took his time learning how to talk but now there's no stopping him. Amidst the large volume of emphatic but incomprehensible jabber, he throws in a couple of new words each day.  It started with a humble vocabulary of food:  chis (cheese), cashew, cak-kew (cracker or cereal).

Now we have:

• sauce (outside) - usually accompanied by insistently pulling on the door handle
• op-ay (open)
• buckew (buckle) - he loves buckling straps almost as much as he loves toilet paper and Marcy's printer
• sock
• shoes - usually while trying to force my shoes on for me
• bat (bath)
• up-ey (up)
• hat (for hat, hair or head)
• eyes
• nanay (banana)

Today we even heard opay buckew.  A sentence! 

He intermittently says things that sound like mommy, do-dee (Jody?), dada.  Maybe after he's mastered food and clothing words he will pick some names for us.

Dream Come True

Mount Cardigan

 

You know how some places are charged with emotion because of the things that have happened there?  Or some places sort of take on the essence of a time in your life because you've just been there so many times?  Cardigan Mountain is starting to feel like that kind of a place.  My sister and I worked at a hiking lodge at the base of the mountain in high school.  A few years later Jeremy and I got married in the same spot.  I've hiked the mountain - short, steep, great views - nearly a dozen times.  Now little Sam has been to the top too.  After you've carried both of your children up a mountain and married your husband at the foot it, that makes it kinds special.

 

Blast from the past:

Ethan on Mt. Cardigan April 2010

 

 

Happy Birthday to Me

 

This has been a year of incredible growth.  

Last winter brought some of the darkest days we've had since starting our family.  Now the summer sun is shining (and the humidity stifling) and I feel so thankful that we've come as far as we have.  After seemingly endless late night conversations, reading of parenting books, consults with friends, and a little bit of family therapy, Jeremy and I are finally (kinda, sorta) figuring out how to parent Ethan.  We are also actually taking the time to enjoy each other despite a hectic schedule and the constant demands of kids.  Ethan and I are slowly reconnecting.  Most of 2012 I spent alternating between being too busy with Sam to spend much time with Ethan and freaking out at Ethan because of his destructive behavior.  Now my 5-year-old buddy and I sleep together every night and most days I don't yell and he doesn't hit.  This is progress!

I'm also figuring out my residency applications and feeling thankful that I finally have a chance to reflect on what I want in my career and how to make it happen.  

Our dear friend Marcy and her awesome kids down the street are total gems, making this neighborhood into a real community for us. 

Nana and Pappy finally got the chance to sleep over with both kids and everyone survived.  

Wow.  I am one lucky person.

  

Here's to 32!

For the love of toilet paper

Sam loves toilet paper.  At first I thought it was just the normal baby/toddler fascination with unfurling a roll of TP.  Who wouldn't love that?  But this is WAY more than a normal appreciation.  He is obsessed with toilet paper.

 

Sam would seize with joy in this bathroom!

Proof:

Jeremy and I independently discovered the same soothing technique: when Sam is freaking out (first thing in the morning, before naps, when Ethan whacks him), we rip off a little piece of TP for him.  He wraps it in his chubby baby fingers, stops crying and lets out a sigh of relief.  Literally.

Other toiler paper antics:

Sam wraps himself in a little leading edge of TP, does a few quick turns and runs as quickly as his very short and uncoordinated legs will carry him, pulling the TP behind him like an endless cape as he flees his pursuers, usually into forbidden Lego territory (Ethan's room), cackling gleefully. 

Once he gets a good handful of TP he will spend hours clutching it.  Unsure what those little white clumps are on your floor?  Just fistfulls of TP that Sam finally let go.  We could track him by this trail of crumbled wads. 

Tonight Sam was out of sorts, thanks to a terrible night's sleep last night, minimal nap today, and a few fresh vaccines at the doctor's office.  He finally settled down to sleep after an extended bedtime routine, comforted by his father's love and a handful of toilet paper.  He is still holding it tight while he sleeps.

From crawling to swashbuckling

This week Sam decided to walk.  One day (Thursday in fact) he just stopped crawling and walked all around the room.  Now nothing can stop him - not even a little swordplay.  

P.S. This is Ethan's greatest dream realized.

Teamwork

I only walk when no one is looking.

Sam has been a bit of a late bloomer in the walking-and-talking department.  He started standing in mid-May and took one or two steps around Memorial day, but has only just started willingly walking from one place to another, maxing out at around five steps.  But it definitely counts as walking in my book.  Here's the proof:

This is what "talking" (and eating yogurt) looks like:

Sam's First Bike Ride

While Ethan was at pre-school we snuck away for a ride along the Connecticut River 

and Sam took his first trip in the Burley!  Here's how it went:

BEFORE: Sam is not exactly thrilled about the bike trailer.  

AFTER: Sam is blissful after a head-bobbing nap along NH dirt roads, 

torrential downpour and steady supply of raisins and cheerios.

As for me, it felt INCREDIBLY good to be on my bike again.  I was reminded of the hundreds of hours I've spent in my saddle over the years, quietly reflecting on life, enjoying the breeze, struggling slowly uphill, flying downhill.  So much has changed in our lives since we used to spend days on end riding around rural Wisconsin, but we still love to bike.  What a treat to find a way to enjoy it with our boys.

-Jody

5th Birthday Party

We spent a gorgeous day at Riverside Park celebrating Ethan's 5th birthday.  

I feel so lucky that we have (finally) found a sweet little community here.

 

 

 

In case you were wondering, river + playground + shelter + skate park = best park ever.  

 

 

Turns out it's kind of hard to light candles in the wind.  

Good thing I had a crew of advanced problem solvers to help me figure it out.

Thanks to Marcy Hogan for the incredible photos (and good company and cute kids)...