Lucy's Surgery

Lucy had an umbilical hernia fixed on Wednesday. My mom took Henry the night before, since we had to get up pretty early to head to Helen DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids. Lucy's surgery went well, and she was kind of groggy for quite a while afterward, but by late afternoon we had to try to reign her in from doing too much activity... she got her appetite back and was just a little whiny, but otherwise back to normal later the same day.

Well, I did not bring my camera to the hospital. I debated it for a while. I thought it would be weird and unnecessary, but I wish I would have brought it because there were some times when she was sleeping in her bed, or in Ron's arms, that were just so precious. I know any surgery is a big deal, and although this outpatient procedure was about as routine as they come (and she bounced back as quickly as can be!) it was her first real hospital experience since she was born!

Although I didn't have my camera (regret, regret, regret) I did have my little Flip video recorder from Kelly in my purse (see, how handy!!!), so I got a few seconds of her before her surgery, getting all geared up in her tiger hospital jammies and socks. Once she was dressed, she was ready to run out the door to the playroom, which is where this video leaves off.

Ribbit

This was taken with my Sigma wide-angle zoom lens (17-70). The frog let me get pretty close! I tried to turn him to face me (he was right by the edge of the deck so I couldn't move) but then he got angry and hopped all the way from the upper deck down to the ground! The top version is the basic one, and the bottom version has sort of a vintage look... which is nicer? I was pretty happy with how much detail I caught in his skin and the sharpness of his eye!

Memorial Day Weekend

First off - today is Ron's 31st birthday - happy birthday hon, I love you!

We had a great Memorial Day weekend. The weather was beautiful, and we even made it out to Saugatuck to wander around with our Otsego friends Eric and Jen. Everyone else must have had the same idea because it was a very busy town that afternoon! It was gorgeous weather and the sidewalks (and parking spots) were packed! I love it though, it's so pretty and the shops have such interesting, unique finds. I loved listening to a potter explain his methods, and was admiring one of his large shallow bowls until I saw the price tag ($250)! Well, he is very talented, but that's a bit steep for me! :) We had dinner and beers at Wally's and then went back to their house for a couple hours. Sunday our guest pastor at church was wonderfully inspiring and we came home and grilled hamburgers and hung out outside. Our neighbor came over and helped Ron with the pergola project (which is about 95% complete now!), and yesterday we went to the parade in Jenison (on Baldwin), then home to relax for a few hours before going to my parents' for grilled chicken. Lucy chased butterflies around with a net...

Henry seems to have some kind of allergy (pollen?) which makes the skin right around his eyes all red! Poor guy! But he's still a happy boy, and loves crawling around all over and pulling up on anything he can. We have already dropped the mattress down because before too much longer he'll have his feet under him.

Lucy got a big bucket of chalk from my grandparents last week, and is quickly wearing down the pink pieces.
Henry has spent some more time in the grass lately, and whenever anyone sees him sitting in grass they are surprised that it doesn't bother him. I think it often does feel strange to little ones at first, but neither of our kids minded it. However, he does try to eat it. This photo actually isn't from this weekend, but it's a recent one anyway. I was trying to get more of Lucy for a change, and her playtime outside was when Ron was digging up our massive hosta collection and I could keep an eye (and lens) on Lucy, while Henry was napping.

I believe I have a few on my camera I need to go through, but I realized it has been over a week since my last post! Generally things have been kind of uneventful around here, I guess! We're just glad to be able to go out in the yard almost every day and say hi to our wonderful neighbors, take walks, etc... which means less time on the computer, to be honest! Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

Why I Blog

I think it's becoming more and more popular for people to participate in some form of social networking online - whether it's MySpace, Xanga, LiveJournal, Blogger, Facebook, Twitter, even some photo sharing sites like Flickr, and numerous others, where you can share thoughts, opinions, experiences, videos, photos, news... In fact, the weblog ("blog") format has existed since long before the term was coined. As of the end of 2007, the blog search engine Technorati was tracking over 112 million blogs! Apparently in 1999 blogging became more mainstream (although the first blogs date back to the early 90's), and clearly hasn't slowed down.

I started blogging in 2005, while trying to conceive our first child. I think I was going through a really tough time and needed some kind of outlet. Although I didn't write much about TTC, it was then that I started finding old friends and reading their blogs. I wrote about my life in general, and honestly it was pretty boring! I deleted that blog and started this one (September 5, 2006), almost a month before Lucy was born. It seemed like a good time to start documenting my experiences as a stay-at-home mom, as well as my other thoughts about the world outside of my home. I knew I needed to stay connected somehow.

In the past two and a half years, I have reconnected with many old friends. We don't just comment on each others' posts, we actually do get together in person from time to time! I think that it's good to take it to that next step if it's logistically possible, and your social "network" should extend beyond your computer monitor. Also, being a stay-at-home mom, I have a great way to journal about my family in a format that is open to comments and a sort of conversation among myself and other moms, as well as friends and family who are interested in what is going on in my neck of the woods. My sister, for example, lives in Illinois and if it weren't for our blogs, it would be hard to find time to regularly keep in touch, as she is extremely busy with her job and working toward her MBA, and our free time doesn't always coincide. We can read each others' blogs when we have time, and it really helps us keep in touch on a more regular basis.

As a professional photographer, blogging is a seriously important aspect of networking and marketing my business. I want to get to know other professional photographers, and see their work, but I read their blogs every time they update! I also want to stay relevant for potential clients, and a frequently updated blog will (statistically) pull more traffic than a site that sits and never changes for months on end.

As I said earlier, the number of blogs out there is pretty staggering. I don't worry about my kids' safety, because "A Day in the Life" is also A Needle in the Haystack. Random acts of violence and terror can occur anywhere - a parking lot, a a park, a dark alley... I suppose I don't feel that the Internet is this scary awful place, although there are predators out there; I keep a watchful eye on my children at all times. I promise my blog isn't read by enough people to truly increase our chances of being in danger. You know how many people read Dooce?! If she's not worried about Leta (or the baby she's due to have in a couple weeks), I think my kids are alright!

So, to the handful of you who read this, when and why did you start blogging?

Brother and Sister

(on the left, that was Lucy just a bit younger than Henry is now)

Henry's Mother's Day Gift

Taking this picture was tricky... but hopefully you can see the tooth there. It poked through yesterday.

Thank You!

I just got a lovely bouquet and a sweet message from my sister Kelly for Mother's Day (and also my birthday coming up a couple days after), and it came in a cute little green pot too! I was so surprised to get a package today! Thank you so much, I love it! :)

On Deck

There is still a little work to be done on the back deck (the rail cap, the pergola, staining, etc.) but we have our spindles on, and no one is falling off the side. We hope to be spending a lot of time out here this summer and fall. We can sit out there and relax, which we did a little bit late yesterday afternoon. It will look completely different when all the finishing touches are in place, but here's a photo I took this morning (view from the slider) of our furniture. Arranging it in the corners like this felt like the best option, and fills the space without making it feel crowded, or blocking the way to the steps to the lower deck...

Tulip Time

My mom, Lucy, Henry, and I went out to Holland Tuesday morning for Tulip Time! Lucy wore an "authentic" costume we borrowed from a friend again, and Henry wore a hat and scarf to look like a little Dutch boy (minus the wooden shoes for him this year). I have to say, I got a bit tired of all the, "oh, you poor thing," and "do your feet hurt, honey?" from strangers, directed toward Lucy. Actually, she didn't mind at all walking in wooden shoes, and she is quite good at it. She was also fine with it last year, when she was only a year and a half old! I think if she wasn't okay with it, she wouldn't be walking around smiling... Anyway, a lot of people thought the kids were adorable and asked to take their photos. We ate hot dogs and an elephant ear - they are huge, so we shared it... although Henry had Dutch Apple Dessert baby food instead. It was a nice morning, the weather was just perfect (if not a bit warm), and the kids were very good. Ron has yet to see or eat an elephant ear... we might go back later this week so that he can try one!

More photos from this year's trip to Tulip Time HERE on our Smugmug site.

Photos from ALL trips to Tulip Time HERE...

On The Move

Look who's looking older all of a sudden! Also, he is "crawling". I use quotes because he isn't totally smooth with it yet. He takes lots of little breaks, but gets up on his hands and knees, crawls a bit, and flops back down... then repeats this process to get anywhere he wants to go. I really think he's figuring it out, and even moved over to a musical table toy and pulled himself right up... He also incorporates rolling into the mix...