Masterpieces

Julia, Aidan,

Recently you both have had an artistic awakening or renaissance or self-discovery or something.

Aidan, you used to color and paint a lot. But something over the past 18 months made you shy away from it. You like to paint some, but really had no interest in coloring or drawing or writing. Now sculpting? Play-doh? You could do it all day long. But, for whatever reason, you decided you didn't want to color or paint, and we embraced that decision (and bought a lot of Play-doh).

But late last year your Mom and you started experimenting with less permanent mediums...ie, the Magna-Doodle. No pressure on a magna-Doodle! And you doodled away. Eventually, we started leaving you letters to trace on the Magna-Doodle, and you loved it. You trace the letters at  least once a day and, of course, let us know what letters they are. And, low and behold, recently you started just writing the letters by yourself! Super cool!

Then we started experimenting a little more. Your mom or I would help your draw a circle and then let you draw a face. And, before you knew it, we were drawing your FIRST STICK FIGURES on PAPER! Mommy and I were so pleased!

And then, surprise! For my birthday, I got a signed fully original piece of artwork just from you!

I love it! We proudly hung it in a prominent place at home!

And now, you know what you're saying? You say "I'm Good at Painting, Mommy!" 

Yes you are! And your artistic expressions have started to flow on to paper again!

Also, your Mommy nearly cried when you used scissors properly for the first time in our presence. One handed clipping brought so much joy!

You made a ROBOT:

 And this beautiful masterpiece, which has a surprise involving staples, googly eyes and a lot of glue on the back. This is actually the thing you were working on when you told mommy "I'm good at painting."

Julia, you have always been interested in coloring. You like to use lots of colors, and even have some favorite crayons (which, much to your dismay, I can never seem to find).

Here is one of your latest works.

You're not opposed to collaborations either. You and Mommy worked together to make me a "Silly Mermaid" for my birthday!

For Christmas, Aunt Nessa got you an over-sized Frozen coloring book and you have become quite taken with it. It's the first coloring book that you really showed interest in, and you slave over it with the greatest detail.

Look at the eyes, which you chose to color blue and her mouth, and how you labored to color in each little gem stone green (and one red).

The two of you don't have to be artists, and we really don't mind if you don't like painting or drawing (even though it is such a big part of your mom's career and education). But we love that you guys can both find any way to express yourself artistically. 

And, when dealing with a toddler and a kid when there are paints and markers and crayons at eye-level and fully accessible, we are thankful that most of your masterpieces in these mediums are on paper!

Mommy and Me (and Me) : Week 38

Aidan and Julia,

You have a magnificent Mom. I should know, she's my best friend. You're lucky to have her on your side, and lucky when she's not on your side that she still loves you and always will.

Things are about to change here for the both of you. Julia, you're going to be coming into the world and Aidan, Julia's about to be coming into the world. You'll both have to do something neither of you may like too much...you'll have to share your Mommy with each other. 

I'm pretty sure it's going to go smoothly, though, because your Mommy has more than enough love to go around, and once we emerge from this whole last trimester of pregnancy and fourth trimester outside, you're Mommy is going to have a lot more energy than she has now. 

Week 38, in a book store

That said, though, I'm amazed at the energy she does have this late in the game with a pregnancy. We're about a week out, and, Julia and Aidan, your Mom always has time and energy for "Mommy and me" time with and for the both of you:

She's a great hand-holder:

Her belly, aka Aidan's sister, is a great place to play with Buzz and Woody:

 She's a fabulous art teacher:

She's great at making you laugh:

She's a pro crocheter, and has already made you three hats, Julia!:

She's outdoorsy, she's artsy, she's funny, she makes tasty foods and does silly voices. That's your Momma.

And, although you both will have to share her from now on, you also get something else: each other!

A Blurry Moment; Aidan "kissing" Julia

Soon enough, Julia, you'll be a sister. And Aidan, you'll be a brother.

But don't worry, your Mommy will ALWAYS be your Mommy, and will always always love both of you.

As will I.

9. Earth: A Precusor

In honor of the fact that in week 38 of the pregnancy, you only have NINE days left until your due date, I wanted to let you know of 9 things that I really think you'll like about being a human being on earth.

9. Smelling Smells- The nose knows, and as you know, when a nose is heightened - like your mother's was- or deadend -like mine was- things are just kinda out of whack. But there's nothing better than smelling pancakes cooking in the morning, or the smell of freshly cut grass, or popcorn at the movies. Although there are some bad smells which, lets face it, you'll probably produce quite a few of as a baby, smelling is pretty much where it's at.

8. Colors- You probably haven't seen much of any colors, since color needs light and there's no light in the belly except when I shined a flashlight on you (sorry about that!) I'm particularly fond of blue and green. Your Mom like purple and blue. What are your favorite colors going to be?

7. Breathing- I simply can't say enough about breathing air. When you're not doing it, you tend to miss it quite quickly. It's pretty awesome.

6. The sky- I know that your Mom's ribs are about the limit of where you can go upwards now. But, we have a saying here on earth: "the sky's the limit." It's that big bluish grayish thing up above us and it often contains clouds, birds, and celestial bodies. Lots of people want to go up in the sky, but even when you're up in it in an airplane, there's still more sky above you. I really think you'll like the sky.


5. Grandparents - You're a pretty lucky guy! You're gonna have all four grandparents in close proximity. AND you have a set of great grandparents too. From what I know, Grandparents are pretty awesome: they get you stuff, change your diapers, babysit with no notice and generally love everything you do...even if it's smelly. You're going to like your Nannah, Baba, Mimi and Pops. And your Great Grandma and Great Grandpa too! And, on top of Grandparents, you have tons of Aunts and Uncles too!


4. Dogs (and other, minor animals)- What's better than having 4 grandparents? Having 2 dogs! That's an old saying we have here on earth as well. But you're so lucky that you have both! Dogs are kinda smelly, kinda annoying and they make really good lap warmers. They love to play outside and love to sleep all day. Preston and Toby have been very curious about what's growing in your Mom's belly, and I think they'll be really surprised when you come out. But, we know that they'll love you..especially once you start leaving crumbs for them to eat everywhere!


3. Making noise- In space no one can hear you scream. That's a saying we have on earth about that thing above the sky (space). It's kind of true for you too: where you are no one CAN hear you make noise at all. Probably because you can't make noise yet! But the second you come out, you're gonna really get to test your vocal chords and cry, and scream and eventually giggle and gurgle and talk! I really like making noise, much to your Mother's chagrin, especially early in the morning.

2. Food- Now, for a long while you're not going to get to eat grown up food. All you're going to hopefully get is breast milk, and if that doesn't work out then Formula. I'm not sure how good any of those things taste, but I got to imagine they're better than being fed intravenously through a weird cord sticking out of your belly button. That's a bit too Matrix-y for me. Eventually though, you're gonna get to eat all sorts of things: bread, cookies, spaghetti, pizza, apples, grapes, bananas, water, noodles. Food is right up there with my favorite things in the world.

1. Parents- Okay, so this is the power of positive thinking. I'm sure there will be times when you won't be too happy with us, like on Shot day or when we ground you for God-knows-what. But, just so you know, whether you're mad at us or not, we're the two people on this planet who have pretty much been assigned to be your guides and show you around, let you kick the tires and eventually help you find your own little piece of Earth that's all yours. But up until that day, we're gonna be there for you. It's pretty sweet: we're human beings, like you, but we're bigger and have really big arms that are perfect for holding you and rocking you and bathing you. We have really big heads and mouths that we can use to make faces at you and talk to you and teach you things about stuff (since we KNOW you're going to like stuff!). We have cars, and those will come in handy to get you places. Plus, we already have this really awesome thing for you called unconditional love...and we can't wait for you to come and meet you so we can show what that one's all about!


So, there's kind of a crash course on life on earth. It's pretty cool and, in 9 days (give or take a few), you're going to get to see it for yourself! And we can't WAIT for you to get that opportunity!

Cosmic Happenings

Things have been having cosmic coincidental undercurrents lately. I think it has something to do with the magic of being pregnant.

For example, last night your Mom and I both had dreams about me eating Fruity Pebbles, the cereal. In my dream, I could taste the cereal (which I'd never had before). Your Mom told me this morning that she too had a dream in which I ate Fruity Pebbles, and I loved them! (by the way, I did try them this morning, and they were alright. Cocoa Pebbles are better). But is being pregnant tying your Mom into some sort of cosmic connector? How else could she have received the signal I was transmitting and had her own Aaron and Fruity Pebbles dream?

What, that's not fruity enough for you?

Okay, check out this weird Twilight Zone connection. Remember yesterday's entry about the pigment (or lack there of) in your hair? I joked about what your Mom and I would look like with all white hair.

So this morning your Mom went into see our friend Myra for a haircut. And guess what they found growing from your Mom's head?

A single white hair.

And it was short, too, which means it's relatively new. Perhaps even one day old?

So, what do you think? Is pregnancy tapping your mother into some sort of cosmic interconnectedness craziness or are you just giving her grey hairs already? Is having you in her belly tapping your Mom into the world's unconscious and cereal-related desires, or is it just a mere coincidence?

Whatever the meaning behind these ESP happenings, nothing really compares to the magic of feeling you kick. Your Mom told someone the other day that everytime you kick, she can't help but smile. I had my hand on her belly last night, and I got to feel you kicking up a major storm. I couldn't help but smile either. Now THAT is a cosmic happening (not me smiling (i do that a lot); i was referring to the feeling you kick part!). Oh, and Belly Button Watch Day Whatever it is: It's still an inny!

Pigment of your Imagination

Welcome to Week 24! Although you are still supposedly the size of a papaya, we know you're growing like crazy in there. You can't look at the picture above and think "hmmm...papaya." So, we know that you've evolved beyond the papaya comparison!

You Mom said that your movements are feeling more and more fluid, rather than the jabby old punches we felt earlier. Your Nannah Joon even got the opportunity to feel you kick!

You're developing right along: you're face is pretty much formed and you're just accumulating fat. But, one of the coolest things we learned was that as of right now you're not a red head, blonde or brunnette. You have hair, eyelashes and eyebrows already but, as of right now, it's all WHITE! Pigment hasn't been developped yet!

So you won't feel bad about being a white-hair, I wanted to show you what your Mother and I would look like with all white hair! (Please note, this photograph is not my finest hour of digital manipulation...)

So, it IS possible to look good with all-white hair. I bet you look just dashing. To make up for that tomfoolery, though, I have to share with you some much higher-quality photographs I took two weekends ago. Your cousins Ruthy and Steve were kind enough to give me their old Digital SLR, and I've been experimenting ever since! We went to the Dallas Arboretum and spent the afternoon taking pictures of your Mom and her bump (well, at least that's what I did). The results are way better than the previously featured photograph.

So, even though we are officially in week 24, you can still enjoy some of these photos from week 23 at the Arboretum.

Blanket Brigade

You have a growing army of people making you hand-crafted blankets and quilts.

I'm not sure if these people think it is extra cold in our house or something, but they certainly never voice any thermal discomfort while visiting! Maybe babies just need blankets like peanut butter needs jelly.

So, when you come out, you're going to have bunches of blankets and slews of hand-sewn stuff!

We're not too sure of your design preferences right now; do you have your Mom's womb all feng shui? And we don't even know your favorite colors; in fact, it's probably really dark in there so you most likely haven't seen any colors at all. I'll try holding a flashlight to your Mom's bellybutton today so you can see some colors.

Even though you probably don't have any preference on colors or design, we've got your back anyway.

We talked Mimi out of using the "Every-color" yarn to make her blanket. And the ones she ended up with are waaaay better, and don't even slightly resemble clown vomit!

Bozo May have lost his Lunch.

Nannah Joon is making you an extra cool blanket with a literary theme. But not like "Anna Karenina" literary; so don't worry about not being into the Russian masters quite yet.

And, I don't use the word "cute" too often. (In fact, I hate it when people call my man-mobile "cute.") But, your Aunt Sham has some really cute fabric on it that has a whole bunch of insects playing instruments (no, not like the Beatles, but you're getting pretty clever!). We're not sure what she's making with said fabric, but things are looking promising for you in the blanketing department!

The Bug Band Fabric?

You're going to love what all your loved ones have in store for you. And if you're too young to contemplate a complex emotion like love, at least you'll probably drool all over the blankets!

On a side note, I hope you like socks. Your Mom has been on a huge sock-animal kick lately and has made you a monkey and a giraffe.

Two of your Mom's Creations, Living Life to the Fullest.

Granted, nobody has anything left to wear on their feet, but at least your crib will be well stocked with foot-shaped friends!

With all the talented people in our family, though, I wouldn't be surprised if even more cool DIY projects are looming!