The Shire's Hobbit Hole

Watch us grow!

2009-03-06T08:55:00.000-08:00

We are growing!

I am now 35 weeks pregnant, with only a few more weeks to wait for the arrival of Shireling #2. I am having a pretty good pregnancy as long as I pace myself. When I try to do my usual 16 hour days, I end up feeling pretty much miserable by the time I go to bed.

My blood pressure is still really good - 108/68 yesterday. But I am getting pretty puffy. My fingers are a couple ring sizes larger than they were two weeks ago, so my wedding ring is in a dish on the counter and a much larger Celtic band is in it's place on my ring finger when I'm out and about. And since this baby has dropped already, I am facing less heartburn - but much more hip discomfort.

I am content to live with all these discomforts for then next few weeks, knowing that life won't be easier then than they are now. I am trying to enjoy every moment of Donny being the only in the family. He keeps us smiling all day long!

So, lots of requests have been sent to me to see preggo pics from friends from far away. Unfortunately, most of the pictures that are taken around here are of our Donny, so you won't get to see much of me - but here are a couple which prove that I am, indeed, great with child.

Here you can see the pictures were about Donny, but I happened to be close by :) - and I look more fat than preggo... proof that though sweatshirts are the most comfortable thing to wear, a nice, tight maternity shirt is much more flattering!

Okay... enough whining about no one taking pictures of me (if I'm not careful, I'll end up with cameras flashing all over the place). On to what Donny's up to these days.

One of his favorite pastimes at 20 months is playing with laundry. If we don't get it put away right away, he piles it on top of himself, tries to put it on by wrapping it around his neck, drags it around the house... very cute, and a bit annoying! Last time I was pregnant, I could leave my clean clothes piled up if I didn't have the energy to fold and put away. As we speak he is flinging my clean socks onto the floor next to the underwear he tried on and discarded a few minutes ago.

The picture above, where he is wearing my "I heart Mom" shirt and the one below with Auntie Jo's sock are both examples of his love of wearing other people's laundry. Both of these were his idea. He even got my shirt on (minus arms in armholes) all by himself!

Climbing in, on, and around is one of Donny's other favorite things to do. I carefully put the dining room chairs in their places each day, and each day, Donny lines them up into an L shape near the table so he can climb onto one and then go back and forth on all of them... kind of his own personal boardwalk above the kitchen floor. He still likes to climb onto his Incrediblock, the couches, into the car and his highchair. And, if he can find pillows nearby, he loves to dive off head first - he doesn't seem to be bothered by bumps too much. I've gotten used to it, but my co-workers get really nervous when he climbs on the chairs at the office.

Here, he is in his dresser. I've tried to store shoes and hanging clothes in this compartment, but that doesn't last long, so I gave up. It's a good playhouse!

The third activity of this toddler is following us around and talking to us. Here, his Daddy caught him talking to me while I was taking a shower. He didn't get up the nerve to go into the bathroom for quite a while, but he stood in the doorway and talked/shouted to me for at least 20 minutes. I encouraged him a bit by playing peek a boo around the shower curtain.

We have been working with him on Starfall.com, and he has learned to recognize sounds and letters from that. He is about 60% accurate. Not bad for 20 months! He loves to look at books and point out the letters and numbers, and points out the letters on our shirts, appliances, and cereal boxes.

Some of his cutest current words:

"Monkeys!" (for any stuffed animal)

"Babe-we!" (for people's tummies and babies he sees)

"Dubba!" (for W)

"Simus!" (serves a dual purpose for PBJs and the Simpsons)

"Pone!" (for phone)

"One, two, one, two, seven, eight, ten!" (counting)

"Emm-Oh!" (Elmo or any red stuffed animal)

There is much more, but you get the idea. He's just the cutest kid ever :)

Don't you agree?

Precious Moments

2009-01-11T23:23:00.000-08:00

Ever try to cuddle with an 18 month old? The one that lives in my house is pretty stingy with his cuddles. Ten seconds here and there is about all I can get. Tonight he did something inexplicable. He hauled his thirty pound frame up onto the vintage green couch and nuzzled up next to me while I held a phone conversation with a friend. He sat there for at least 45 minutes - as close to me as he could get. No toys. No TV. Just cuddle time. Once in a while he pretended he was talking on the phone too.

Then when I said goodbye to my friend he crawled over my lap and sat on the other side of me jabbering about the Christmas tree. Again, he sat as close as he could get, his hand resting on my arm. So we sang "Here's a ball for baby" and "Pat a Cake" and several versions of "Jingle Bells" ala Elmo's World. Then we worked on the alphabet song (he likes the lmnop and w portions the best, but always chimes in on the "Now I know" part too) and counting.

It was precious, and I find myself more attached to him after such a great bonding moment. When Andy got home he reminded Donny to do that lots since the days of Mama-Donny time will soon be over. I vowed that we would still make time for us even with younger sibling vying for attention. These moments are the ones that make me so glad to be alive - and not at all anxious for time to pass.

Christmas Eve 2008

2008-12-24T23:49:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve dawned like all other days have dawned for nearly a week. With more snow than the night before. Accumulated snow depths in our back yard were just over a foot. I love to look out the back sliding glass door at the yard filling up with more and more snow. It's funny how people in our area have always wished for a white Christmas, and now that we are bound to get it, they are complaining about too much snow.

I, on the other hand, am more and more convinced that I love the snow! Being stuck in my house for days on end has increased my domestic bliss. I have cooked dinner several nights in a row, cleaned my kitchen, organized the linen closet, done laundry, and wrapped presents... all while looking out on the world and marveling at the beauty of snow, and it's power to bring reclusive neighbors out into the common spaces of our culdesacs.

When the weather man talks about conditions "improving" over the next few days, what he means, in his weatherist way, is that the snow will melt and go away... leaving the status quo intact. I'm not a fan of his "improving" conditions. I love the snow!

Temperatures remained below freezing until mid-afternoon, but before they started warming up we had to go out to get groceries. It has been five days since Donny and I have been in a car. We've been hunkering down in our house with only occasional excursions out into the snow for recreational purposes. He was beside himself with anticipation when he saw Auntie Jo go out the door with his carseat. Several layers of clothing later, we were off on our grocery adventure. Donny likes Auntie Jo's car because it has a Beaker finger puppet in it.

The roads were a mixture of compacted snow and ice in some places. Not too bad for travel. In other spots they were slush and ice moguls that made driving bumpy and a little frightening. Fortunately, Joann has snow driving experience and we got to Fred Meyer unscathed.

Donny went with Auntie Jo to Starbucks while I started the shopping. He made friends with people there by standing beside them and saying "Hi!" in his excited, breathy way while the lattes were being made. Then they came to the grocery store and Donny got his first ride in the race car cart. He grabbed the wheel immediately and started shouting "Weeeeee!" But being strapped down while Mama chooses $132 worth of groceries is not his idea of a fun time, even with the steering wheels in front of him. He was glad to be done when we headed for the car - but unexplicably began shouting "Damnness!" repeatedly as we rolled over the ice. A passerby looked at me and said "They turn 14 before you know it!" I nodded knowingly. I'll try to proudly enjoy the accidentally and publicly shouted variations on swear words now, knowing that these moments are fleeting.

Once Home, preparations began for the big Christmas Eve feast. Because of the snow and road conditions, we were unable to travel to Eugene for our traditional extended family Christmas Eve. So, we brought a little of our celebration traditions to our house. Dinner consisted of rice pudding, potato soup, lefse, cheese, salami, sliced apples, rolls and sparkling apple/pear and apple/pomegranate juice. In attendance were my parents, Joann, and the Shire family of 3.5. With recordings of old family favorite Christmas music in the background. It managed to feel a lot like Christmas - even without the goat cheese.

Donny even liked the lefse. Must be his Norwegian roots. We'll have to get some goat cheese when the roads are clear again and try him on that.

After the meal, Andy broke out his new Wii system and got the whole family into the action.

See! Being snowed in isn't the worst thing in the world! You can even go bowling!

Snowy Photo Shoot

2008-12-20T09:12:00.000-08:00

Thanks Joann for the photo shoot!

Victoria Vacation, Eh?

2008-09-14T22:38:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a delicious vacation to Canada. In preparation this summer Donny and I got passports. Donny's is really funny. Such a grown up document to have a little Hawaiian shirt wearing baby's picture in it!

Our vacation started on Saturday, September 6th at 5 am. Yes. 5. It was way too early to get up, but we did it so we could save money and not pay for an early reservation on the ferry. Donny was groggy and incredulous when we got him up at 5:45 (his usual get up time is about 8:30), but became excited when we took him outside to get into the car. He loves to be outside, so this was a special treat from his crazy parents. He babbled and watched the road happily for two and a half hours before I had to start entertaining him with toys and snacks.

We arrived in Port Angeles and drove right into the queue with only a handful of cars in front of us. We then wandered around the terminal area, changed our money to Canadian, bought maple bacon bars, went for a walk, made our last phone calls for a week, and let Donny crawl around on the playground and get really dirty.

At 12:30 we boarded the ferry and started our voyage. Donny was happy to experience the ride from his stroller. Andy enjoyed it thoroughly... I was a bit queasy and had a hard time keeping my balance through the swells at the middle of the 90 minute ride. Andy walked Donny around the deck while I clung to the bow and tried to keep my stomach in place. Donny fell asleep for a good portion of the trip - and a good thing because he had not slept all morning.



We made it to the WorldMark Time Share Resort in the afternoon and settled in for our week. Andy's folks weren't able to make the last ferry of the day, so we three (four) were on our own for the night. We went down to Fisherman's Wharf for fish and chips at Barb's. It was really good! Donny ate at least a quarter of my coleslaw, fries and fish. Donny also got to sleep that night in the master suite after exhausting himself with exploration of the space. He had a really good time crawling in and out of the living room onto the deck. It had a high threshhold - maybe eight inches high? So he was basically diving in and out, trying not to hit his head on the concrete. He loved it out on the deck which was an enclosed slab of concrete with plexiglass panels that kept him safe... but made us a bit nervous. The heights did not bug him at all. And he discovered that he could press his face to the glass for big reactions from the adults inside! He did this trick a lot on Sunday and Monday during football which Don doesn't usually have time to watch, so he took advantage of being able to see the Packers, Bears AND Farve play on the same weekend. Donny mostly kept Kathy busy on the deck, and made faces at us.

Here is a view from our deck. We could see the Johnson street bridge, a Marina, the Waterfront walk, the ferries coming in and out, the float planes taxiing out for take off, and other fun boats going by.

Because we were on a fixed budget, we did a lot of walking this week instead of going to attractions. Donny loved to go out. Any time the door opened, someone put on shoes, picked up a purse, or moved the stoller, he was shouting "Bye?" and headed for the door. He went out with whoever would take him! His favorite places were on the street in front of the Empress where there is a ton of street musicians, cars, motorcycles, buses, horse drawn carriages, people walking by, etc... He just loved the bustle.


Once we stopped by a playground to try to let him get some energy out. He spent the whole time crawling up and down the wheelchair access ramp. Silly boy!

On Tuesday we went for a drive on the island and ended up in Sidney. It was a great little town that smelled of lavender (a nice change for a nauseated pregnant woman!) and had the best fish and chips at Boon Dock's. Donny spent the entire time we were eating turned around in his seat watching the guys at the bar. He yelled "Bye!" repeatedly to them when we left. While we were there we let him walk with Grammy and Grandpa for a while, visited the dock, looked at a great statue sitting on a bench, had ice cream, and walked around a lot. It was probably my favorite destination of the vacation.

On Wednesday, Donny had a day with Grammy and Grandpa who took him for walks, introduced him to a street guitarist who sang him a lullaby, and took a four hour nap. While they were busy with all that, Andy and I went for a date on Victoria. We went to Miniature World, a place I've wanted to go to since I was ten and saw pictures of it. We spent a long time in there looking at the exibits. I loved the sci fi diaramas at the beginning, and then was less than thrilled with the war scenes. We played with the miniature trains, looked at the doll houses and Dickens scenes. Our favorites though were the London scenes and the circus diarama. Well, Andy liked the model car one a lot. Here are a couple of samples of what we saw.

After our miniature experience, we went to Old Vics for Fish and Chips #3 of the week. I liked the Halibut best, Andy liked the Cod. It was supposed to be the best on the island, but we liked Barb's and Boon Dock's better. After lunch, we went for a very long walk. Those of you familiar with Victoria know that there is so much to see! We walked from the mall area across the Johnson Street Bridge, then down about a half mile or so on the river walk to watch the ferry come in from the other side of the bay. We also saw lots of float planes take off and land, mini ferries scuttle from port to port, and other boats powering by. Our resort is the building just behind the float plane. We were on the 7th of 9 floors on the side you can see.

Next we retraced our steps to the Parliament building and up into
Beacon Hill Park. We sat by a lagoon for a while. Then we trekked up
to the top of Beacon Hill. I made Andy lay on the ground to take this picture of me under the huge Canadian flag at the top of the hill.

My pregnant body was done by this point, but we had a long way to go yet. Andy let me stop and rest a lot, thankfully! We walked down the hill and walked a mile or so to near Ogden Point, and then turned into a neighborhood for shade to walk in. I only got a little sunburnt. Unfortunately, the neighborhood way was longer than if we had stayed in the sun... we had to stop again at a community park to sit on a bench. Wow! I felt so out of energy! When we got home I was ready to stay in for the rest of the night!

Kathy and I also went to tea at the Gatsby mansion. It was four courses of deliciousness! What a good time for girls to be together.

Later in the week, we all went out to Ogden Point. Donny fussed the whole time - maybe because he was afraid? or didn't like the sun? We couldn't figure it out, but the only time he fussed was when we were out on the concrete dock that takes you out to a little lighthouse. As soon as we hit land, he was fine. I enjoyed the walk back, singing to him kept him quiet. So I sang all his favorites and mine to him while Andy and his parents stayed back and watched a cruise ship come in to harbor.

On our last day in Victoria, we decided to take a family trip. We decided on the Undersea Gardens. It was a poor choice (and I can say so because it was my suggestion). It smelled very musty, the windows were small, the fish were unimpressive, and the tide pool display was really small with only a couple of starfish. Donny just kept trying to get loose to climb the stairs. I was able to keep him quiet for most of the best part which was a "live scuba show" where a diver brought various creatures to the window for us to see by feeding him pretzels.   There was an Octopus that was brought up that was pretty interesting to see up close. You can see from this picture that Donny was not interested in the fish, but thought that Grandpa was pretty funny.

After that was done, we walked along the waterfront in front of the Empress and looked at the crafts and caricatures for sale. And we posed by this statue of an Orca done in all sparkly mirrored tiles. Afterwards we went to Marble Slab and Roger's chocolates for more ice wine truffles. Yum!

To finish off our last night in Victoria, Andy and I went for a walk to the Moka House to get a hot chocolate like my friend Anne suggested. It was very good, and nice to walk along the waterfront one last time to see the lights on the buildings. Such a pretty city!

Somehow, we didn't take any pictures of our long trek home yesterday. We took the scenic route home after barely making it onto the ferry (all the regulars knew to put their cars in queue the night before for the early ferry. We waited until 2 1/2 hours prior to the departure, assuming that would be enough. Only four cars got on after us! The ride back to Port Angeles was much more challenging to my stomach this time... and Donny was wide awake the whole trip, so I had to pop the Cinnamon Altoids and keep stumbling around the deck to try and keep Donny and Peanut happy. Andy took a turn around the deck when I decided that walking might be making it worse. It wasn't. Was I ever glad to get back to the car and off that ship!

We took the 101 all the way from Port Angeles, through Forks (which we think should have a CYT so it can have the website CYTForks.com), Aberdeen and lots of other little towns. Donny slept for an hour of the first leg, then got really restless. We kept him happy by singing endless rounds of "Old MacDonald" who apparently had cows, chickens, puppies, pigs, kittens, barns, pickles, and snakes. He would also smile when we counted - his new favorite pastime. He was just "counting" things in a book a minute ago using his baby babble. So cute!

We stopped at a school playground about 45 minutes out of Kelso. He needed to get out and work off some energy! He didn't like the ramp on this one because the decking was mesh. I don't know if the heights scared him or if he just didn't like the feel of it. So we tried the slides - which he LOVED! He started climbing the slide, the saying "Weeeeeeee" as he slid back down on his tummy. We got a video of that. I'll have to try to figure out how to get that online.

After the playground he was a gem. Quiet and watchful, then as the sun went down, his eyes got heavier and then closed for the last 30 minutes of the drive home. Once there though, he ran around the house like a maniac for an hour before he calmed down enough for his bottle and bed.

Vacations are a different thing now, with a baby along. I feel like a good portion of the joy of the experience is watching Donny's fun. I am so excited for the rest of my life to watch him gain new experiences and learn new things!

10:38 pm

August 2008

2008-09-14T19:12:00.000-07:00

Creativity is the name of the game with Donny these days. He has discovered that he has ears and a nose to play with. He has also figured out the skills of crawling and walking in less than a month. What a difference it makes in our house to have to keep looking for the adventurer to make sure he isn't into trouble.

Real hands and knees crawling started on his 13 month birthday. His first steps were just two and a half weeks later. Now he is all over the place!

Another special feature of August in the Shire household was a roast dinner prepared by Andy. Yum!

Also new to the Shire household this month... the news that Shireling #2 is on the way! The picture of the watermelon with my sister-in-law (who is due in November) and me (due April 11th, 2009) was my family's idea of a funny sneak picture to take at the family get together. I think it's funny... but I would have smiled and posed if they had asked nicely!

Goin' Campin'

2008-07-21T12:58:00.000-07:00

Notice how using the title "Goin' Campin'" is way cuter than just saying a plain old "Going Camping!" Silliness! Okay, so this weekend was a momentous one for our family. Donny went camping for the very first time, and he LOVED it!

We didn't prepare well, and didn't stay long enough... but it was fun anyway. Here is a cute shot of Donny getting his nightly backrub from his Daddy. After this he was all set for a good night's sleep in his crib, not knowing that outside his room, preparations were going on for an adventure!

Andy and I started prepping for camping at about 9:30 pm the night before - and we had to be out of the house by 7 am! We forgot to pack water, bug repellent, a little broom for cleaning out the tent - well, actually, anything for cleaning besides wipes. No washcloths, old towels, paper towels... good thing we have well prepared friends! I guess I was too busy trying to figure out what to take for a one year old and forgot to think it all through very carefully. Turns out, all Donny needed was his normal diaper bag with some warm clothes, his stroller/camp chair which was already in the car, his port-a-crib, and sticks.

Donny loves being outdoors, so he was happy the entire time we were out in the woods, and he was happy with almost the same activities as adults: sitting around and playing with sticks. Except that the adults use the sticks to poke the fire while Donny uses them to taste and wave around. Here is proof that he was in seventh heaven!

Initially, the plan was for Donny and I to share the tent while Andy slept outside in his hammock. He got it hung and it looked so inviting! I was really jealous. Then it got super cold and he ended up sleeping next to me in the tent instead to keep "warm"

Donny was not happy with me when I put him in his crib for a nap - but he did fall asleep after about 40 minutes of sporadic playing and crying. I took this picture through the tent window so it isn't very clear, but you can kind of see that he has his stuffed puppy's ear over his eyes (to make it less bright for sleeping?).

After the nap, we went on a little walk to the lake and played for a little while. Donny was so happy!

Such a loving kiddo! First kisses then head bumps (tope!). He is becoming more and more affectionate. He doesn't give hugs yet, but will let me give them to him for a few seconds before squirming to try to get down and play.

And here's Trillium Lake in the foothills of Mt. Hood. What a beautiful place! Next year we'll have to take an inflatable boat to float around it in.

Andy had fun showing things to Donny. And Donny was happy to look and learn. I wonder how much he is really getting of what we say these days?

Campfire time was good fun for Donny. I was worried that he would miss his normal routines, but he happily babbled and chewed on sticks for hours. He didn't even eat any rocks! I guess he saves that for times when he's home and I'm not watching because there don't seem to be any small inedibles near him.

Then it was time to eat, which he could do while sliding out of his chair with no problem. I should have just let him eat his dinner of the ground. What difference would it have made?

I love how babies remember to look up at the sky! So pretty! The birds, trees, clouds...

You can see all 7 of Donny's teeth here!

Donny isn't a big fan of being messy... but eventually, he did manage to get his face all dirty while eating the cheerios that he had dropped on the ground earlier. It was so cute that I didn't stop him.

Some friends convinced us to pose Donny for this shot. He does look a bit like a lumberjack doesn't he?

He didn't get nearly as dirty as I expected him to. His hands were pretty dirty, and he had some smudges on his face, and I could "spank" him to make clouds of dust and dirt come off his seat. But a change of clothes and one wipe and he was presentable again.

He went to bed without complaint and slept well. I tried to cover his little icicle hands several times, but even in his sleep, he kept putting his hands outside to hold the blanket close to his sides. I wonder if he will always sleep like that? In the morning he woke up with a happy "Da-Dad!" because he could see us sleeping next to him. It was 6:30 - and time to get up! Who can sleep while freezing in a tent with an awake one year old? Andy and I didn't sleep well at all, but at least we managed to stay warm by putting a couple of egg crate mattresses under us and warm blankets above.

After some instant oatmeal for breakfast and a roaring fire to warm up the boy's fingers, we packed up our gear and said goodbye to our later arising friends (that used to be us!) and headed on a little road trip. Andy had never driven all the way around Mt. Hood, so he plotted a course that would take us only about 25 miles further and achieve this feat. We stopped in at Timberline Lodge for a minute where skiing is still going on in the middle of July - It can't be that good at this time of year... but the die hards were out there.

After Timberline Lodge we drove in to Hood River and stopped at a rustic place called Charburger at the West Hood River exit off of 84. It was really really good. We plan on repeat visits! Donny left piles of dust and pine needles on his seat, and I thought he was already cleaned up! Next we stopped by Multnomah Falls for our annual July picture. Andy and I have gone out every year since the first week we met and had our family picture taken. It's fun to watch the family grow!

Once home, Donny got a burst of energy and played hard. He is now working hard to overcome obstacles in front of him. He climbed over Andy who was laying on the floor between him and his goal (who knows what that was... he seemed to forget while we were cheering for him. He also almost climbed out of the bathtub (the bubbles - a new addition for him - scared him and he clawed his way up into my arms in less than a second - we had to do the bath very quickly while he screamed. Maybe I'll try the bubbles again in a couple of months?) And he crawled from room to room. It is good to see him trying to move around himself instead of whining until we take him to a different room when he gets bored.

I was trying to keep him awake until 7, but he was tuckered out and fell asleep watching TV with Mama at about 6:30. Isn't he precious! He slept in until 8:15 this morning too. Let's see - that's almost 14 hours! Camping is fun, but definitely tiring!

I can't wait to take him backpacking someday. We will have such a good time!

Shakespeare Camp!

2008-07-08T09:30:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun with our new CYT camp this summer! Because of my love of the bard, I convinced everyone that we needed to try a day camp for teens which focused on one of the great classic plays of the English language. And since I'm the boss, I was very convincing :)

We had 25 kids and three staff members, plus one student assistant/slave working at the camp by the end of the week. At the beginning, we thought two teachers would be enough... but these kids needed more of us to keep them busy, so we imported my friend, Jeff Rocco, the AD for the North Idaho CYT branch. He taught the kids fencing, Shakespearean improv, and focused on helping Lauren with costumes and makeup while Zach and I did the blocking for the show itself. He was such a life-saver!

I can't tell you how fun it was to watch the kids bond and build lasting friendships over something as nerdy as Shakespeare. They had a blast!

The theme for the week was A Midsummer Night's Dream, and we rehearsed/learned lines like crazy. By the time we were done, we had prepped a 45 minute showcase from a reduced script which I made. And as we arrived at the venue, we discovered that a truck had knocked over a telephone pole down the street so all power was out. We had to make a last minute change and move our show out of doors. What a happy accident! The kids were a bit nervous about the change, but it was fun performing the Bard in the outdoors. We all decided that we should do our camp showcases this way every year!

Donny even liked the showcase... or at least he liked being outside on a blanket with toys :) Maybe someday he'll want to be the kid in the leotards performing classic shows? I hope so!

The 4th of July week at the Shire.

2008-07-05T03:29:00.000-07:00

Our little baby is One!

Who could believe that a whole year has gone by. I am beginning to understand what people say about how fast your kid's lives go. My baby is almost not a baby anymore. I only have 17 more years and he will be moving out. I'm going to cherish every minute until that happens!

We celebrated Donny's first birthday a week early, so on his actual birthday there was little to do but sing to him all day (which we did - particularly me!) and turn his carseat around. He was pretty stoked about that. All the sudden he could see where we were going! No smiles, just a constantly craned neck. I turned around to feed him a cracker or something and he pushed my hand away and tried to look around me.

We went out to a friend's home on the Columbia Gorge (directly across the river from the Vista House) where there was a big party going on. The weather was not great, but beautiful. It was hot and grey, and the lightning was striking very close. I had to tell the kids it would be a better idea to watch the storm from indoors instead of on the open bluff. (I heard that after we left that the lightning struck in the yard... but it could be an urban legend.) The tour group performance had to be moved into the garage for the safety of the kids wearing microphones. They made do, and the audience loved it!



Donny was not as easy to entertain as usual (he's cutting a couple of teeth) so I took him to the side yard to play in the grass. The second I set him down, Brooklyn and Kimberly Hicks (both 7) pounced! He was surprisingly calm throughout the ordeal. They picked at his hair, crowded him, hugged and poked him and he just kept playing and babbling. It is so fun to see him learning to play!



Donny has always loved outside, and now will walk us to the front door any time we take his hands and let him walk. He wants to go out and be close to the wind chimes, or sit on the grass, or ride in the car. Next best is bouncing in his favorite "chair" while looking out at the world. Can you hear him laugh?

Donny always pushes his way up into the same corner of the crib when he sleeps.

The first of three pieces of Donny's first birthday present from his Grammy Shire and Aunt Julie arrived this week. It is a Gobble and Go Hippo. It picks up blocks as it rolls on the floor. The only problem is that the boy panics when the hippos starts to move. So he stands there happily, but no walking around the house yet.

One of his favorite play play places is in his room by the mirror with his Casio keyboard. Isn't he cute!

This morning we all trekked down to Fort Vancouver to see a couple of my CYT kids perform in a talent competition. Donny loved being outside. And I loved that it wasn't hot out! I gave Donny a flag to wave around, but he just wanted to chew on the end of the stick. I tried to get him to stop, but he was persistent. I had to take it away from him.


Look at those tears! So heart breaking.

We got to see Robert and Patrick perform. Patrick won first place along with a 500 dollar scholarship.


After the show we went home to get ready for the block party. Donny didn't nap well because of the fireworks, but he cheered up when we put Barney on for him. Then we went outside. All was well for a little while... until fireworks. Every bang put him in a frenzy. He was so upset I could hardly hold on to him. Blind panic set in and there was nothing I could do to calm him. So I went in and situated him in front of Barney with his favorite pink L toy and he was happy again. The fireworks didn't phase him at all from in the house, even though they were being shot off just outside the house. He even danced to them a couple of times when there was a lot of popping. Andy stayed outside to eat his steak and watch the fun. After I put Donny down, I took the monitor outside and got to watch the show with Andy. It's stunning how many really good fireworks I could see from my lawn chair. Vancouver is a tottally different animal on the 4th than Oregon is! So much more is legal, so every culdesac and neighborhood has it's own little show. All around us the fireworks were blooming. It was pretty cool.

But I am tired.

Goodnight all!

3:29 am

Donny's First Birthday Party!

2008-06-22T01:57:00.000-07:00

Well, it came and went in a flash. Donny handled the day about the way we predicted he would: like a baby! Presents were a bit traumatic. He dislikes the sound of ripping paper, so he was not interested in opening his presents.


Once they were opened, he was semi-interested, but still unhappy enough to be a bit clingy. But then we set up the ball pit and he had a great time with his cousin Jack.


Cousin Katie liked the big ball. Great Grandma was the only one who got to hold her for very long. The two of them got along well - and matched perfectly!

Then it was cake time! I expected that he wouldn't dig in too much because he doesn't like to touch bananas or raspberries because they feel funny. Frosting was going to be way worse! But, just in case, I made him his own little yellow monster cake (with a little help from Grandma Whittaker) and Monster's Inc inspired buddies for the rest of the family.

He was more interested in his pretzel than the cake.

He removed an eye very quickly and looked around for help with the frosting on his fingers. I gave him a taste of it (which he liked a lot) but he still didn't want to touch it. He did chew on the hat for a while because the frosting on it was dried - but Grandma Whittaker had to convince him it was okay.



But that didn't last long. He was much happier when he was clean and eating his cereal and beans.

Here's what the cake looked like when he was done with it. The missing eye is all he gets credit for, the chunk of cake missing out of the top was done by his Mama who fed him a couple of bites. Cousin Jack did much better on his blue monster.

Here are a few more shots of the day to make your day cheerful!



Donny's buddy Chase came over for his party, and they had a good time together. The second picture of Donny doing his version of a kiss. A sitter taught him a Spanish command "Tope" which means "bump heads" or something similar. So he gently head bumps us to say he likes us. (Real kisses are all tongue, so I prefer this habit!)

His Great Aunt Kris delivered his dresser drawers which she had painted to match his bedroom set. We really love them!

He ended his day sitting outside on his new homemade monkey blanket with his beautiful Grandma and Grammy. He did not want to come back inside and go to bed! I did... but I'm still sitting here posting. I'm going to sleep now!

1:57 am

Where was my camera?

2008-06-06T18:54:00.000-07:00

Today Andy and I celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary. He's got a cold. So does Donny. So we took the stir crazy kid with us to the Rose Festival village for a walk and lunch. Auntie Jo came too. He spent most of the time with his legs kicking wildly while his hat sunk further and further down his face until it covered his eyes. This didn't seem to bother him for some reason. It WAS a cold and windy day to be outside, but seriously he could not see anything but the inside of his hat. I pulled it out of his face many times and he pulled it back over his eyes - silly kid!

Then we had lunch. I had some yummy curry chicken and fry bread which I shared with the Don (he seems to like curry, horray!), Joann had coffee from the Himalayas, and Andy had a brat with the works and his lemon shaker. It was when we were done with our freezing meal that Andy spotted Sponge Bob. He pretended to be afraid that Sponge Bob would see him, then he rolled Donny's stroller over to see him, assuming that he would be frightened of a large yellow square creature with giant eyes and mouth. Sponge Bob, too, seemed a bit afraid to approach Donny and scare him.

This is when our lethargic, sick little boy smiled, reached out, and shook Sponge's finger. He smiled for at least a minute afterwards before settling back into his hat over the eyes stupor.

He has refused to take a nap so far today besides the 20 minutes he got in the car. I wonder if being sick has made it too hard to stay asleep? Oh well! He's happily babbling and beating his toys against the floor right now, so I'm not going to worry about it.

CONTINUED...

After a late nap (4:30-6:00) we had to wake the poor boy up to drag him out of the house yet again. But it was so worth it! It was opening night of Peter Pan out in Washougal and we couldn't miss it even for an anniversary. Because of Donny's cold, we decided not to leave him with a sitter, but to try having him watch with us. I was poised at the exit to take him out as soon as the inevitable emotional outburst began.

The show opened with much anticipation and the audience was jazzed. Then the moment when Peter Pan flew into the room arrived and the house cheered. Donny was also excited and jumped in my lap until the clapping died down. Then he settled back in to watch. He made it all the way through the first act - and I only had to put a bottle in his mouth twice because he was talking. He was enthralled with the singing and dancing and seemed to even like the dialog (though Captain Hook bored him - maybe it was the booing?)

During intermission we let him roll around on the floor and shriek. It seemed like he was ready to be free. I figured I'd miss the second half. I was wrong! He settled in very nicely and watched the whole show. He got a bit drowsy at one point, but he clapped whenever a song ended (even if the actors started talking in the middle of a song which was not done and he was the only clapper!)

After the show Donny was clearly tired, and so were his parents, so we left right away. But Andy heard Donny beg for Sonic :) so we stopped at the brand new Sonic which has finally made it's way to Vancouver and had dinner. Our third wheel didn't spoil our anniversary dinner one bit. He sat in the backseat and talked to the lights and carhops happily while we had our romantic fast food topped with a pineapple sundae.

What a great day! And to top it off, Donny started making forward progress today by getting on toes and forearms and lurching forward to get things. Crawling can't be too far off now?

Off the charts!

2008-06-03T00:19:00.000-07:00

At 11 months, our "little" boy is finally off the charts. At 30.25 inches long and 28.5 pounds, Donny is now officially abnormally large for his age and his mama's back. We did two girafferoo photo shoots this month. The first in his retro hot dog outfit with his first McDonald's french fries, the second in the chair that he now knows how to slide out of whenever he is tired of sitting down.

He is a wiggler. He does not cuddle for more than a second, and no sooner have I picked him up (at his request), but he is climbing back down. I feel like I have a toddler on my hands, even though he hasn't even got the crawling thing down yet. He is rolling everywhere and scooting backwards - pulling his baby monitor onto the floor by the cord.

We took a family mini-vacation to OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) this month.

Donny got to see his grandparents who were there on a school field trip, watched his first OmniMax movie (Lewis and Clark - isn't Grammy Shire proud! he loved it! bounced and waved at the screen - only the bear scared him a little), and explored the baby/toddler room.

Here he is in an eagle's nest with Daddy:

and pretending to be a dinosaur:

Playing in the ball pit and talking to the fish:

Our big boy is the joy of our days. Andy is at his best with his son, teaching him new tricks and playing/exploring. I am at my most content and joyful when "playing" with him, singing to him, dancing with him. And now he has begun to talk to me too! Mostly babbling, but sometimes I get a real "Hi!" The babbling seems like real words sometimes. I definitely get the emotional content of what he is saying even if I don't understand the words. The words I do understand are Daddy, Mama, Hi, Bye Bye, and Light. And he is good about signing "all done," and "more." He also copies us (especially Andy) when we make noises. He has a very cute fake laugh, cough, and whistle.

He decided he didn't want to be swaddled a couple of weeks ago, and also seems to be rejecting his pacifier when we lay him down for a nap or at bedtime. He is an independent and busy little boy.


I am treasuring every minute. What a blessing he is in my life!

Mother's Day #1

2008-05-11T22:09:00.000-07:00

I thought you might like to share with me in Donny's first ice cream cone. It was actually frozen custard from Sheridan's. Donny wanted to go there for Mother's Day dessert after dinner at Gustav's where he devoured several pieces of rye and pumpernickel bread, half a dill pickle, and a slice of lemon. The girl at the counter offered Donny a "puppy cone" and I said "why not?" this is what followed.

He got bored with the custard quickly, but when I dumped it out and gave him the cone to play with/eat on the way home, he quietly devoured every last morsel!

Happy Mother's Day! The highlight of the day was when he offered me a kiss at dinner. He's stingy with those kisses, so that was truly precious!

A fresh perspective

2008-05-09T23:24:00.000-07:00

Donny reminds me every day how amazing our world is. He looks at the sky and birds and new people in a way that makes me remember how extraordinary the ordinary really is. We've taken him on a few walks recently, and he jabbers away at everything while behind him, his parents complain about the heat (okay, that was me) and mundane things. Meanwhile, he sits in his place of honor and waves at passersby and anything that entertains him - sometimes his own hand. I don't look at my hands with wonder very often, or look up at the color of the sky when I'm walking between front door and car. He does every time. Babies are such a reminder that the world is a paradise of simple beauties when all around the business of our days absorb all of our youth.

May Day! May Day!

2008-05-03T01:01:00.000-07:00

It's been too long since I updated. My days are full of beautiful moments with a beautiful ten month old, growth and ministry with my staff and families at work, and laughs with my amazing husband. This month has had very tough moments as Andy lost his job, but has ultimately been really good because he has been around so much more. We are both catching a vision for a day in the future when we can afford to be a one income family with a stay at home dad. Donny gets very good care and attention from his Daddy, and the dishes miraculously get done while I am at work.

Donny is getting chubbier again this month. I think he is getting ready to grow inches and start crawling to work off the extra chub. At 25 lb he is at the 93% for his age and at 29.5 inches he is at the 75% for height. This little friend of his is two and a half and only out weighs him by one pound.

See how he is getting to be such a little boy?
He's got skill! Like holding his bottle with one hand:

Ignoring newborn babies (my good friend had a baby last month after being inspired by newborn Donny to start her own family, Donny was totally unimpressed with him)

Being generally cute when imitating a grown up sitting on a couch:

Faking being upset to get a laugh:

and entertaining the parents by taking them for a walk to see the boats on the Columbia:


One of our events this month was a dance for the kids in CYT. Donny went along and loved the music. He has started "dancing" in the last couple of weeks. He also took his first assisted steps at the dance. Andy held his hands and he finally got the idea that he could travel if he would move his feet. He is getting more mobile every day. He rolls, twists, wiggles, bounces, and maneuvers his way to the toys that he wants. He isn't crawling yet... although tonight we though for a second that he was on his hands and knees. Turns out he had lunged from a sitting position onto a pile of plastic blocks which temporarily held him up.

Donny talks constantly, lots of babbling and staccato sounds. He loves to imitate Daddy. Tonight he copied a wookie sound and a series of "huh?" "wha?" "uh?" He also says "Hi" "buh buh" and "mama" and waves constantly.

mmmm... I am getting too tired to write more. Here are some pictures of the boy at the dance and with his girafferoo.

New York and Nine Months

2008-04-05T22:32:00.000-07:00

Donny is nine months! He just had his nine month check up and he measured in at 2'5" (75%), 22lb 10 oz (80%), and a 46cm head (75%). He didn't have to have shots, but he was upset anyway because he had to lay on a cold scale with paper on it (icky noises and yucky sensations!). He was also tentative with the doctor because he was cold and mostly naked. But he was given a clean bill of health, and instructions to start trying to crawl. He shook his head "no" to that... but then he shakes his head to everything - happy or sad he is a bouncy, noddy kiddo!

Here he is in his nine month Girafferoo photo. He wasn't particularly happy when we took these pictures, but with a few funny noises from Grandma, he cooperated with a couple of smiles.


These weren't actually taken on his nine month birthday. On that day he was with his grandparents while I was in New York City for a week long conference. The separation was much harder on me than on him! Here he is on Easter Sunday in his church clothes.

We went to church at Andy's work so that we could be together on Easter Sunday morning. Afterwards we drove to my parent's home to leave him. I get sick still thinking about leaving him for so long! He loved being spoiled by Grandpa with walks outside (and even a stroll around indoors when the weather was bad).

I saw eight shows (my favorite was The Little Mermaid - Donny is wearing the shirt I brought him in his picture above), got to visit with my friend Ande from New York and Jeff from North Idaho. I learned to navigate the subway and enjoyed the sunny weather.


I was so happy to see my little man, my big man, and my mama at the airport when I arrived home! I couldn't get enough of him... still can't! It's amazing how much he's enriched our lives in the last year. Here is a picture of us on March 23, 2007 and exactly a year later in front of the same tree:


Donny's first grass experience (very short lived as he started pulling and eating the grass as soon as we set him down)

I had a rough day this last week, and when I got home to my little man, I was greeted with this little surprise. Andy said Donny insisted on getting a tattoo. He "relented" after some tears and "let him" get it. Truthfully, Andy just got a bright idea and knew it would make me smile. He was right! What a little charmer!

I'll tell you, he has the ability to make me forget my troubles and brighten the dark days - though they are few and far between for me!

10:32 pm

Eight Month Pictures

2008-03-17T22:18:00.000-07:00

I have been remiss! I took these pictures nearly a month ago and I am finally getting around to posting them! Sorry to all you who love and are far away. Here is a series of his 8 month Girafferoo pictures - there were too many good ones to pick just one this month.

And here is a time lapse of what happens when you get close enough to the boy that he thinks he can reach you:
First, the idea strikes and he reaches:

Then he lunges with no regard for personal safety:

This month Donny also got to meet his first baby chicks. He was pretty unimpressed, although he did really like the glowing red heat lamp that hung over them:

Here are a couple more of my favorites from this month:
In his car seat box:

and all ready to go!

Donny is getting stronger and busier all the time, but he is still showing no interest in crawling or moving around the room in any other way. I am thrilled that he will still stay put! I can put him on the floor with a basket of toys and a couple of pillows to protect him from himself when he randomly squeals and throws himself backwards, and he is still going to be there when I check on him. This makes taking him to the office much easier than it will be when he is mobile!

Our most recent development is that he will now say "hi" (more like Hah, hah!") and as of today "bye bye" (also bah, bah!) and wave when he is prompted to do so. So cute! I caught him waving at another baby today.

I am getting ready to go to New York for work next week. Packing begins soon, and a new haircut and color, and trying not to think about leaving Donny and Andy for a whole week... I can't be too sad, because I will see 10 shows while I am there! and schmooze with 15 or so others who are doing the same job I am in other places across the country. Being a Mom makes me both dread and be excited for March 24th!

And one final photo for this post taken by my sister:

Images from CYT this year

2008-03-04T12:33:00.000-08:00

For those of you who love CYT like I do... and for those who are interested in what I do, here are some images from the last year of CYT shows in Vancouver/Portland.

Look Who's Tired Now!

2008-02-18T02:09:00.000-08:00

Well, our 7 1/2 month old has graduated to a big boy carseat! At nearly 22lb, he had maxed out the weight limit for the "bucket" seat, so now we are carrying him to and from the car. Donny seems to be thrilled with his new luxury seat. He has lots of room to wiggle in and a better view out the back window. He also likes to be sitting all the way up. In the baby seat he would try to sit up by pulling his head and shoulders forward as far as possible - and hold it that way for much of the car ride. This picture was taken on the way home from a long day at the theater.

My play Little Women opened Friday night, so he has had a week of babysitters and hours at the theater. He is a contented guy, and doesn't seem to mind the shuffle... though he does get a little overwhelmed in the green room with a dozen little girls cooing over him! Here he is on move in day, following his director Mama all over the theater on important business:

Rehearsals went really well, and the show is one of my favorites. Below are some pictures from rehearsals. First of me giving direction to some of the parent volunteers, and some parents working on sets backstage:

One of the actors having facial hair installed:

And a couple shots from the show:


My choreographer (and good friend) Rhonda, one of my actresses (also my housekeeper on occasion) Audrey, and myself at the cast party after opening night.

Donny got all dressed up for opening night too! He tried to help usher, but he was too distracting, and wanted to eat the programs instead of passing them out, so we had to fire him.

He danced with me at the party too... but we didn't stay long because it was almost eleven when we got there and he hadn't slept since 5:30.

Another milestone passed almost unnoticed this week. It was Valentine's Day, the fourth anniversary of our engagement. But, with Andy in the sound booth, me in the audience taking notes on the final dress rehearsal, and Donny entertaining his sitters, we didn't do much besides exchange chocolate and cards. Donny got his first Valentine with a cash gift from Grammy and Grandpa Shire... It didn't impress him much.

What a cutie pie! Here he is talking to the camera.

Now this tired Mama is going to put herself to bed!

2:09 am

7 months old!

2008-02-09T23:46:00.000-08:00

Who's seven months old?

Donny has grown dramatically in the last month.
He is now 20lb 11oz (almost too big for his car seat!) putting him at the 83rd percentile for weight.
And at 27 3/4 inches he has jumped up to the 73rd percentile for height! Look at that leg stretch!

Donny recently tried on an outfit from Singapore that once was a gift for his older cousin Jack from Uncle Danny and Aunt Betsy who live in Singapore. Isn't he a doll!

Speaking of his cousins, Donny finally got to meet his cousin Katie and visit Jack last month. He didn't pay much attention to the baby (she was adorable, but sleepy). He liked watching his busy toddler cousin moving around though! Here he is with his Grandparents and the cousins.

Our big boy is a sitter now! He sometimes falls still, but usually it's on purpose because he likes to play the "down! up!" game on one of our laps. Unfortunately, it hurts when he does that on the floor - so I still put a pillow behind him if I'm not going to be close by to catch him. He sure likes it!

I can't believe the joy he brings to our house. What a blessing!

Hark! A tooth!

2008-01-28T03:04:00.000-08:00

Well, at just short of six months, our Donny cut his first tooth... with no fussiness or drama, just lots of drool. It is the lower left tooth. He is growing so quickly! Just four weeks ago he started reaching for me when I came to get him from his crib, now he is sitting up unsupported (with soft blankets around for the inevitable fall which happens as long as 45 minutes after sitting him up), eating every kind of baby food in sight, holding his own bottle, and jumping frenetically in his jumperoo...

For comparison, here is a picture of him in his Alaska hat given to him by his Grammy when he was two weeks old. He is too big for it now!

And here are a couple of great pictures that my sister took of him last week:

Happy New Year (plus much more)!

2008-01-14T02:34:00.000-08:00

It is long past time to post about a month in the life of the Shires. The holidays brought a needed rest for me, though work has been stressful the past 10 days as I try to get caught up. I don't know if it's possible, but I am trying!

Christmas for us started December 20th with a visit to the Schnitz to see Jesus Christ SuperStar. Andy was thrilled to see a familiar actor play the part of Jesus. I was a bit put off by the fact that he was visibly too old for the role at 64. He won me over with his astounding vocals though.

We had our family pictures taken before we left. Here's a sample. It's hard to get Donny to hold still long enough to look at the camera, not to mention smile while doing it. I picked a picture that Andy and I looked good in, and settled for Donny in whatever state he was in!

Next, on December 21st we went to my parent's place in Junction City, Oregon for family Christmas celebration. Donny was well loved. He was the youngest of the Whittaker clan for one last time. My sister Beth was due to deliver her second baby on January 23rd.

I love this picture of Donny with new jammies from Auntie Jo (Auntie Heather is holding him). It reminds me of getting my new jammies every Christmas - they always had room to grow into, just like these!

Here he is in his "fort" that his Uncle Timmy built for him:

And Cousin Jack helping him with his pacifier.

On the 23rd we began our 16 hour journey from our front door to the home of Andy's Aunt Linda in Yellville, Arkansas. We flew Southwest, and ended up on one of those "carpool" flights. We touched down in Oakland and Phoenix on our way to Little Rock. We didn't get off the plane on those stops, but just worked our way up to the front row so we could wrap our little burrito baby an lay him on the floor in front of us to sleep. He did pretty good on the flights, with just one horrifying moment when he shrieked for ten minutes before we boarded. Once we got him fed and swaddled, he did well. We landed in Little Rock and were met by Andy's Uncle Ron and his girlfriend, Sandra. They drove us the 2 1/2 hour drive to our destination at about 4 a.m. Central time. We crashed (as in, went to sleep) and slept until 11. Donny slept that long too! What a blessing!

We spent the next week with the Shire side of the family. They had not been all together for Christmas in 15+ years, so this was a treat. I had only met Andy's immediate family and grandparents, so it was great to get to know everyone else. I have lots more insight into Don, Julie and Andy after meeting the rest of the clan!

Here is Julie and I the day we arrived:

And Julie with Andy:

Here's proof that we love each other still...

Dinner was really good, complete with the famous rutabaga (I tried to like it, but couldn't really eat something the consistency of mashed potatoes that tasted like cauliflower - ewww!) A few of us made the mistake of putting ham glaze on our turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes like it was gravy. It was delicious for about two bites, then just weird. I was relieved when the gravy was found in the microwave, and permission was granted to start over with the proper toppings!

Donny was, as usual, adoreable:



He, and his 9 month old cousin, Lindsey, played together very nicely - neither of them knew how to fight over toys yet! So they just contentedly played and watched each other (when they weren't waking each other up from naps).

Andy's Dad (extreme left), Aunt Linda, Uncle Ron, Aunt Susan, and Aunt Charlene:

The same siblings with Grandma Donna and Grandpa Don:

The whole family:

The Four Dons (Don Shire Sr., Andrew Donald Shire, Donny Shire, and Don Shire):

I was the designated photographer for the week because I had the nicest camera. It was fun. But my favorite photo shoot was of the babies. Donny wasn't the only infant at this gathering. His second cousin, Jackson Foster (4 months and 16 pounds) and his cousin Lindsey Russ (9 months and 16 pounds) were also there. Donny, if you are interested, was the biggest of the babies. At 6 months old and 20 pounds, he was not as easy to cart around as Lindsey, so the young teen cousins spent more time with the feather weight Lindsey. Fortunately, he had no shortage of admirers to take care of him!

Great Grandma Shire dotes on babies, and never let me take care of him in the morning. The minute he woke up, she was waiting with open arms to change, feed, and entertain him. She would greet me in the hall with the instructions to go back to bed. I obeyed!

Grammy Shire spent a good amount of time with Donny on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day since she had to go home to fly out for a tour on the morning of the 26th. Donny loved her, and acted as if he knew her well. Grammy isn't a stranger!

Andy used his time of freedom from responsibility to play Guitar Hero III with his cousins - particularly his cousin Phil. We also convinced him to play Dance Dance Revolution for a while... you should see him dance!

We finished our vacation with Influenza B. I guess we should have had our flu shots! Here is Andy with his oldest niece, Laura Russ. Both sick, and Donny with his Grandpa Shire - also sick (though Donny barely showed he was sick).



Andy and I ran fevers of 103, had chills, dizziness, stuffy sinuses, headaches, and a cough. Donny had some of the same, but a milder case - his fever was never above 99, and did well on the flight home even though his Daddy and I were miserable. Fortunately, the flights weren't full, so we were able to carry on his carseat and strap him into his own window seat. That helped us all fly happier.

Here is our sweetie at his first hotel stay in Little Rock on New Year's Eve. This was just before our excursion to the Whole Hog Cafe to have authentic Southern BBQ - The best I've ever tasted!

And here is Donny's 6 month photo with his girafferoo:

As of today, Donny has crossed a couple of other milestones. 1. he is able to hold his bottle (though he doesn't understand holding it at the proper angle yet, so we have to help him) 2. he is sitting up unsupported (though he still falls down after a couple of minutes) 3. he is eating baby food and loving it - today he added carrots to his diet (last night he chewed on lemons for a long time at the restaurant too - cried when we took it away. Thank you, Aunt Julie, for the good advice!)

And now, for my final update of this incredibly long post: My sister, Beth, had her baby two weeks early. Katherine Pearl Twist joined our family on Jan 10th. She was 7 lb and 19 in - the same size Donny was at full term! She joins brother Jack (2) who calls her "Nonny." We think this is because he thinks she is Donny - or maybe because he thinks the word for baby is "nonny" after spending time with Donny at Christmas. We are going to meet her tomorrow. We'll have to see if Jack is confused when there are two babies in the house at once, or if he figures it out. I can't wait to hold a newborn again!



By the way, I figured out how to compress my photo files down to make this easier to load for those with slow internet connections... but for the benefit of those who want to make prints, just email me with a request and I will send you the full sized photos for better quality prints.

Curtains for Charlie Brown

2007-12-15T14:00:00.000-08:00

Well, Charlie Brown closed last Sunday and we have been trying to return to normalcy all week since. What a fun run we had! Here are a few photos of the kids on closing night.

The strike party after the show was in a big, cold, loud warehouse space, but the environment didn't dampen the fun for the kids. Even Donny had a good time with his improvized pants/hat.

I love my little Round Headed Kid!


Also, last week was a baby shower/girls night out for my sister Beth who is expecting her second baby, Katie Twist, next month. We went to beaches and had a nice, low-key evening over Beaches' House Salad, chicken pizza and dessert (I ordered the bananas foster which was good, but not at all like any other bananas foster I've heard of).


Donny is trying to sit up on his own these days. Unfortunately, though he seems to have the muscles to do it, he still has to learn the balance side of sitting. We prop him up and he sits happily for a few seconds then falls one way or the other - all the time with a big grin on his face, as if nothing happened. He can sit for quite a while on the couch without falling. Eventually, though, he ends up on his face or side.



We hope you are having a blessed holiday. Ours is promising to be busy, but a good time of connecting with family and friends.

On a different note, my Grandma (Whittaker) Borovec passed away in her sleep yesterday. We got to see her this summer and twice this fall. She was getting weaker and her mind was getting more fuzzy, but she seemed in good health. What a blessing that she was able to remain independent and healthy for her whole life. We will miss our little grandma. She was a gentle and hospitable woman with lots of love to give... and the first adult we could out-grow! She was never quite five foot tall, so her grandkids loved to measure next to her since she made us feel so tall. I'm going to miss having her around... and I'm sad that my kids won't remember her. Days like this make me think a lot more about my own mortality. It reminds me to cherish each moment and relationship.

Charlie Brown

2007-12-01T15:22:00.000-08:00

Last night was opening night for our very first CYT show in East Portland! The kids were excited and our audience was blown away. The artistic team was as proud of our cast as we could be. There were 337 tickets sold - almost a hundred of them at the door!

We have a state of the art theater, but a not so great green room space to get ready in. It is the scene shop which is right off of the stage. It's cold and not so aesthetically pleasing... but it works! Next weekend we will have a better room when the college theater kids aren't using the dressing rooms. (They have a show in the black box theater this weekend so they got to use the dressing rooms for this weekend.)

The first circle up before a show happened in the cafeteria. We got to do the power squeeze, sing I Love You Lord, give some notes, and celebrate the moment we have all been working so hard for. Tyler, my assistant director, told the kids all to really cherish these moments. Everyone always talks about the first show in a new area. The bonds these kids are building now are going to last a lifetime. It feels so historic!

Here is a shot of our first audience!

And our very first curtain call! They did so good! And they were flying high all the way to the cast party at La Carretta, a local Mexican restaurant. And they deserved to feel proud. The show was very good, the audience loved them!

Donny's Five Months!

2007-12-01T14:54:00.000-08:00

We are having so much fun with Donny these days! He is getting stronger and smarter all the time. This week he has started to respond as if he understands a couple of words. He understands "kiss." I have a routine with him when I pick him up out of his crib. I whisper "kiss kiss kiss" to him, then I kiss his cheeks and mouth. He will sometimes offer his open mouth for kissing, and when he is in someone else's arms and I say "Give Mama a kiss!" He wiggles with excitement and turns to me with a big smile and waits.

He also knows the word hungry. If he is hungry, but still acting happy and I ask him "Are you hungry?" He starts up with his "feed me now!" whimpering. SO CUTE! Of course, if he isn't hungry, he doesn't respond to the word at all - so I'm not positive he really knows the word.... maybe it's just the context and tone of voice?

We have started some cereal with him in the last few weeks. He takes it really well, but then doesn't know how to swallow it. At Thanksgiving we let him suck on a pickle and an olive, and he had no reaction at all! Either he has no taste buds, or he just likes pickles and olives. He's not too steady being strapped into the high chair yet, but he liked it when we put him in it.



Thanksgiving was fun. Lots of good food, and a baby to show off and be thankful for. Not to mention spending time with my family!



Can you see the triptaphan at work?


Now Christmas is on the way, and Donny loves to look at the Christmas tree... but he likes jumping in his jumperoo more! Here are his monthly Girafferoo pictures. Sorry about the toes in two of them. I didn't realize they were there - and the pictures of him were too cute to not share anyway.

All in a day's Urp

2007-11-15T00:16:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd give you all a picture of my little laundry problem. Today I documented the many outfits of Donny.

Here is outfit number one. He woke up in this one:

Here is outfit number two. He needed this change by the time he had his first nap at 8:45am. I don't like to put him in bed with a wet neckline and sleeves.

Here is outfit number three. I had to put him in this one because he peed all over the last one while I was changing his diaper after the nap.

Here is number four. He spit up profusely all over this one within five minutes of putting it on. Can you see the puddles of spit up on his pants?

Number five. This one got coated in drool (see the previous post for details)

Six. We went out in public in this one. I took him out of the carseat and could hardly stand to hold him, he was so wet in all the places the straps didn't cover. (the strap covers are now in the laundry too.)

And finally seven. I tucked him into bed in this one. It will probably still be dry in the morning thanks to the swaddling he is wrapped in.

I just did the laundry. Here is his changing table all stocked. By Sunday it will be mostly empty, and I will be folding little sleepers again.

Some people have suggested bibs. That only helps short term, since his spit up is projectile and ends up all over his pants as well as his sleeves and his Daddy...and the couch/carpet/changing table/whatever is closer than three feet away from him at any given moment.

The doctor insists he'll grow out of it... and since he is fully sixteen pounds, we aren't worried that he's managing to absorb enough calories to keep himself plump and growing. This Thanksgiving I am grateful for all those who have given us a plethora of clothing. We have enough to clothe sextuplets next time if they don't spit up.

That dreaded first cold

2007-11-14T23:52:00.000-08:00

Poor baby!

Donny is in the midst of his first cold. He woke me up last Friday night at 10:30 with a fever of 101.8 and a hoarse voice. I gave him Tylenol, stripped him down to his diaper, and tried to cheer him up without cuddling him so my body heat wouldn't keep the temp up. Within 15 minutes his temp was down to 100.1 and he was cooing and smiling at me as if nothing was wrong. I called the doctor to make sure I was doing the right thing, and steeled myself for the next few days of the sickies.

We had a restless few nights and one day of lots of whimpering (and almost no napping), but he is on the mend now. He is still coughing and sneezing, and taking longer naps, but otherwise, he is back to his normal tricks. Not quite normal... but close. Today he entertained himself for a while with stuffing his fist in his mouth and repeatedly flinging mucusy slobber all over the couch and me. It was so funny to watch that I didn't stop him, just tried to catch the liquid with a couple of baby blankets.

I, of course, am sick too (Andy somehow escaped it). It has made the whole ordeal harder when we are both suffering with sore throats, fevers, and runny noses/sinus achiness. The good news is that we have been able to stay home for almost a week straight. We went to Fred Meyers and the bank today just so we could get out of the house for a minute.

Here's a great shot of my listless boy on day two of the cold. He was still enough that I could keep a blanket on him. I even let him watch TV for most of the morning since it seemed to help the time pass for him so he wasn't so miserable.

Learning to Sit

2007-11-14T23:23:00.001-08:00

Donny has really been working hard on those stomach muscles. He tries to pull himself up into a sitting position when I lay him on the floor - of course, he doesn't get any further than lifting his head off the floor! Here he is in the position I found him in one evening when I got home. Andy said he sat like this for more than 45 minutes watching football.

Look how proud he is of himself!

A Starbucks Tradition

2007-11-14T23:23:00.000-08:00

Saturday mornings have been a fun time for me the last few weeks. It started with an accidental meeting at a central Starbucks on the way to rehearsals. I ran into my friend Rhonda who was also heading to her own rehearsal. In the drive through were two other artistic team members. And a dream was born. Why don't we all meet at this same place we are all coming anyway at the same time each Saturday morning? And so we do!

Below is a picture of the three directors: Jeff McHenry directing Annie, Kristi Foster directing Joseph, and Me directing Charlie Brown.

Here are the assistant directors, choreographers and music directors for our fall CYT musicals:

It is fun to feel a bit like one big family before we go our separate ways!

The Dirty Deed is Done

2007-11-01T16:01:00.001-07:00

Well, we survived another round of immunizations. He screamed like he's never screamed before, but seemed to be recovering well after some food and a nap.

So, the stats:

Height: 24 inches - 25th percentile (up from the 10th percentile at 2 months)
Weight: 15lb, 11oz (on an empty stomach) - 75th percentile (if I'd fed him he would have weighed in at 16lb, 4oz)
Head size: 55th percentile

So he averages out to be average in every way... but short and chubby!

The doctor says that the spit up problem is a laundry issue, not a concern, so I should just keep doing what I'm doing unless he seems distressed or loses weight. Oh, and it seems he has teeth coming... not that he's complained, but the doctor says they are just about ready to break through!

The Dirty Deed is Done

2007-11-01T16:01:00.000-07:00

Well, we survived another round of immunizations. He screamed like he's never screamed before, but seemed to be recovering well after some food and a nap.

4:01 pm

Yummy Halloween!

2007-11-01T12:09:00.000-07:00

Well, we "celebrated" our first Halloween with Donny yesterday. He got to wear his hot dog costume and answer the door with candy for the neighbor kids. Very low key, but it was fun to show him off to our neighbors. We did make one trip to our next door neighbor's home. They have a little girl who is 7 months old and weighs less than Donny! We left the candy on the porch for the five minutes we were gone, knowing that all the kids in the neighborhood so far had been supervised. We missed the one group of 10-13 year old boys. All that was left were the laffy taffys when we got back. Those were 4 happy kiddos! I didn't mind too much, because I was bored with the trick or treaters and I was ready to go dark and ignore them. Andy was upset because he wanted to eat the leftovers. So, he had to eat the hot dog instead!

I will post later to let you know how much he weighs. Today is the dreaded day when we have to go in for his 4 month check/immunizations. I am also going to check with the doctor about help for his projectile spit up problems.

Discovery at Four Months

2007-10-31T12:10:00.000-07:00

Yes! He is four months old already!

And he is getting more and more curious about his environment. He bats at things that he is looking at, pulls his clothes and burp cloths into his mouth, and even reaches the floor on tip toes in his jumperoo!

Diaper time is play time too!


This baby einstein sleeper is genius! He loves to look at the toes - especially the puppy one.

(Yes, I know there is a recall on the bumbo seat! I only use it when he is 100% supervised as the instructions say! The recall is in effect because people left their kids unattended in the seat on a counter or table and they wiggled out and hurt themselves. So, if I want, they will send me a new warning sticker to remind me not to set him on a raised surface in it - or use it as a car seat... ridiculous thing to do, if you ask me!)

New Baby Straightjacket and other violence...

2007-10-25T13:19:00.000-07:00

I don't know how parents deal with being woken up at night all the time! Donny sleeps a solid 11-13 hour night usually. Not last night. Last night he managed to figure out how to explode out of his old swaddler. At 1 am he woke me up crying (he doesn't sleep well when he is not tied down!) I re-swaddled, figuring he just didn't get fastened up tight enough. No such luck...

1:45 am - he woke me up again. Out of the swaddler again. And 2:30. And 3:00. And 3:45. So... I carried him out to the living room and held him while we both got two much needed hours of sleep... then at 5:45 Andy swaddled him really tight in the swaddler and our biggest recieving blanket before he went to work. I was shocked when we turned on the light and saw what he had done to his forehead one of those times he wiggled free from his swaddling. He looks a bit like I dropped him forehead first on the sidewalk!

Donny and I both slept soundly until 8:00. When, you guessed it! He found his way out again!

Right after I fed him (and trimmed those finger nails) I raided our linen closet and found an old flannel sheet that I haven't used in years and cut it down to the right size to swaddle our not so little man.

I'm not sure why he likes it so much. At almost four months, he is past the age that most babies stop sleeping well in a straightjacket... but maybe he takes after both parents who like to wrap themselves up in a mummy bag like state to sleep every night. For now, he is happily napping in his swaddler and new sheet-blanket... looking like a kid who's taken a big spill off his bike. More fun!

My Spitter and Me!

2007-10-24T13:00:00.000-07:00

Here we are at rehearsals for You're a Good Man Charlie Brown. Donny loves the activity of so many kids running, dancing and singing... I love break time when I get to hold him!

Where did you go? Part 2

2007-10-15T22:28:00.000-07:00

Okay, Now for Donny pictures!

Over the past couple of weeks he has stopped smiling for the camera. Or looking at it much.... he will be smiling away and talking to me, and then I put the camera in front of my face and he looks away and stops smiling. He can't find the source of his smiles, so he moves on! As evidenced below!


When we do get him looking at the camera, the smile has faded:



Here he is hanging out with Daddy sitting in his own grown up chair (though it is a really uncomfortable chair for grown ups!)



The moments I will always treasure come in those quiet spontaneous naps. Me, holding him, breathing in his scent (as vile as spit up smells, I still love it!), catching up on missed sleep in the middle of a Sunday afternoon.

Where did you go?

2007-10-15T22:17:00.000-07:00

I think I should change the name of my blog to "Donny Unlimited" or something! You'd think that I don't do anything else now but take pictures of my little man! The truth is that I do have another life that is all theater all the time... but I don't really document that in photos.

I just finished casting my current show "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown" which will go up the first and second weekend of December. That is going to be a lot of fun. I am really pleased with my cast.

We also just finished with our big fundraiser for the year. We raised over 75K this year! What a blessing that is! I have been very busy with budgeting, planning, training, hiring, etc.... for the growth that our company has had over the last year.

Oh, and I turned 35. Wow! I still feel 25....

10:17 pm

Three Months Old!

2007-09-30T00:41:00.000-07:00

See how big he's getting! So you don't have to scroll down to compare I am putting first his one week picture then today - three months!

3 month stats

2007-09-29T04:24:00.000-07:00

At three months, our Donny weighs 13lb 10oz and measures about 23 inches long (you try measuring a wiggly Donny with a paper tape measure and see how accurate you'll be!)

He sleeps eleven hours every night from 8pm to 7am.

He smiled and talked to us today for the first time while bathing.

Almost Three Months old!

2007-09-27T12:46:00.000-07:00

Our topic for today's entry is my son's growing belly. Over the last couple of weeks he's put on quite a bit, thanks to the advice of a friend who told me to let him eat as much as he wants. The first time we let him eat until he had enough he ate 10 ounces! I guess he was hungry! So... he eats six to eight ounces at every feeding. He's happier, and pudgier! So cute!

He's always hiking up his clothes - usually he has a sleeper or a onesie on, so this chance to expose his midriff and thighs was great fun for him!

Donny has been coming to work with me, but since my office is too small for both of us and his swing, he has been hanging out just outside my door in his work swing. He loves it! Takes all his afternoon naps there. I am able to work and keep an eye on him. By the time he needs to be held and fed, its my break time anyway!

He has decided that he is a big boy now, and doesn't need to be scared when we undress him for diaper changes and baths. This makes life more pleasant for all of us!

He's winking at you!

And he looks so grown up in big boy clothes!

He is starting to interact with his toys more, although I don't think he knows he's holding them when they flail about. But he watches them!

And here's that fabulous belly once again. Notice that he is starting to look more like his daddy.

New favorites

2007-09-11T01:19:00.000-07:00

Donny loves his Baby Bumbo which helps him sit upright. Andy calls it his spit up seat because he spits up as soon as we put him in it. We snapped these pictures as he was sitting on the island looking at the pots hanging from our new pot rack.

We also took him to the doctor for his two month check up this week. He weighed 11 lb 8 oz and measured 21 3/4 inches long. That puts him at the fiftieth percentile for head size and weight, and the tenth for height. He also got his shots :( which he did not like. He loved the oral vaccine though, and cried for more. He was a bit fussy before bed and had a small fever in the night and needed a little tlc at three am. Otherwise, he did fine with his big doctor's appointment.

Our vacation continued...

2007-09-07T19:52:00.000-07:00

While we were in Wisconsin, Donny and I went to our first Don Shire concert. Donny liked the trumpet music and watched his grandpa playing almost as much as he looked at the stained glass windows. But when Grandpa played the shofar he was not okay with that!

Fortunately, he likes his Grandpa anyway! I really enjoyed the whole concert, except for the millions of flies that were buzzing around in this beautiful old Baptist church. Grammy took Donny out after the shofar incident so that Andy and I could enjoy the concert. It was good to finally get to experience my father in law's work. I especially enjoyed the hymns (he played two of my favorites: It Is Well With My Soul and The Old Rugged Cross) and his interpretation of what it will sound like when the trumpet sounds and the saints are called home. I got goose bumps just thinking about it!

Other highlights of the trip for me were bonding with Julie (Andy's sister), cuddling with my new neice, watching Donny "drive" the John Deere, dressing Donny like a lumberjack and eating breakfast at Paul Bunyan (they have no menus because they serve you family style with all you can eat platters of sausage, biscuits and gravy, flapjacks, eggs, french toast, OJ, hash browns, ham...), hanging out on the back patio and in the hot tub, trying to convice my nephew Michael that a butterfly net is not called a "hallway" and that his Culver's fish was not "blueberries" or "chicken," and watching the ever changing faces of my little boy.

Andy's highlights included his fishing trip with his dad and Zach (I'll let him tell you about that), cuddling with his new neice, watching the history channel in the den (we don't get expanded cable at our house and he's a history junkie), showing Donny and I around Silver Birch Ranch (the camp he grew up attending next to Sawyer Lake), teaching me to steer a canoe, and sampling his parent's cooking.

It was such a blessing to get to go to Wisconsin this summer. I needed the rest and the break from cell phone and computer, and came back from our trip rested and much more healed up than when I went. (Even with the long trip home routing us from Green Bay to Chicago to Dallas to Portland getting home after 1 a.m. Pacific time which suddenly felt like 3 a.m. to us) I wish Wisconsin was closer to the Northwest so we could go visit more often. I feel at home there and love spending time with the family. Thank you thank you thank you to Don and Kathy for using precious air miles to fly us out there first class. We couldn't have had a vacation this year without them!

Our family vacation

2007-09-07T18:12:00.000-07:00

We just got back from our first vacation as parents. I couldn't believe how much stuff we had to take! Last summer we carried on all our luggage. This year we checked two big suitcases going and four coming home. PLUS a stroller, carseat, diaper bag, and backpack. Juggling it all was manageable, but getting through security was a long process! I kept trying to imagine doing this with two kids... I guess we'll cross that bridge when we have to!

Our first adventure was a visit in Chicago with Andy's great aunt Arline. Donny smiled at her as soon as he saw her! We were so proud of him!

Next, he met Andy's Aunt Nancy and Donny's Great grandma and grandpa Johnson

They were delighted with their "littlest peanut." He was dressed in his Chicago Cubs baseball colors in honor of his Great Grandpa Earl who is a lifelong fan.

Next we went back to O'Hare where we suffered through a 6 hour flight delay. The parents were more upset about this than the baby.

We spent the remainder of our vacation in White Lake and Appleton, Wisconsin with Andy's parents and his sister's family. Grammy bought Donny this cute bathrobe.

He got to meet his cousins Laura, Zachery, and Michael

And of course Lindsey, his cousin who is three months older than him (and about the same size!)

There's lots more but I'm out of time for today!

Two Months Old!

2007-09-05T20:18:00.000-07:00

Donny and his girafferoo at 2 months old

A few more firsts for Donny

2007-08-13T19:54:00.000-07:00

Here's Donny at one month with his giraffe. He's grown three inches since he was born!

We've been setting up his nursery with new toys we've purchased with gift cards and cash. Below is his current favorite: a Cubs mobile that plays "Take me out to the ball game" he smiles and sometimes even talks to it!

Here's his first bottle. We held out on giving it to him until he was four weeks old. He loved it. I cried. I know it is important to let others share in feeding him, but I was still sad to give that job away even once a day!

Donny is really enjoying looking around his world. He smiles often and loves to look at the vertical blinds and the bottom of some shelves we have on the wall. I have no idea why he is so fascinated by them, but he is!

He also likes to cuddle with mom...

And for the last first of the day: Donny's first encounter with lipstick: (see the forehead)

He already impresses the ladies!

Precious Moments

2007-07-25T23:11:00.000-07:00

Currently Listening
Hymns: A Place of Worship - Classic Hymns
By 4Him
Great is Thy Faithfulness

"It is not a slight thing when those so fresh from God love us." - Charles Dickens

The days when our little Donny will want to be held all day are so short. I marvel at the feeling of being his favorite arms. Today, as I cuddled with him, I placed my forehead against his and he turned his face towards mine. He loves me!

I am well aware of how quickly the time passes. I want to share each precious moment with my little guy while he is still willing to stay close to my heart. I have been thinking about the blessing of being a wife and mom later in life than I would have planned. I wanted all this when I was 22, but God had other plans for me. And now I see some of the brilliance of his plan. Without those years of longing, I might take my Andy for granted. After three years of marriage, I still marvel at the gift he is to me. I am trying to make sure that I always hold the same level of gratitude in my heart for him and now for Donny too. That is why I am so glad to have so many people share him with me. I have never turned down an opportunity to let someone hold him and find joy in marveling at the little person that has joined us. Looking at the faces of literally hundreds of people who have loved on Donny has been one of the cheif joys of my lifetime. Here's a small sampling of the people who have held him. Look at their faces! Babies are God's best miracles because of how they affect us.

Julianne Posivio

Hannah Grazian

Kelsey RussellKathy Shire

Auntie Jo

Trinity Hemenway, Meleesa Hinds, Debbie Woo

The morning after we brought him home I couldn't stop crying for joy at the beautiful life that we have to love. I am learning so much about God's faithfulness from him. I pray that I can learn to be at peace like Donny is with being cared for and held by the people who love him. I pray that he will always remember how to trust like a little child.

Donny meets his grandmas

2007-07-25T21:24:00.000-07:00

What a blessed little boy we have! He has already met four of his grandmas and will meet the other two before he is six months old.

Here he is talking to his Grandma Marie Whittaker

And smiling at Grammy Kathy Shire

And getting acquainted with Great Grandma Zella Kjosness

And admiring Great Grandma Clara Borovec

He can't wait to meet his other Great Grandma Clara in Chicago in August and his Great Grandma Donna Shire in Arkansas in December!

Life With Donny

2007-07-23T22:35:00.000-07:00

It's been too long since I updated you all with pictures of our growing boy. Here he is at three weeks old with his Giraffe-er-roo:

Enjoying his first ride in the vibrating bouncy chair while we ate dinner:

Sitting at the table while we ate dinner (isn't it amazing how babies know it's time to eat!)

His least favorite past-time: the changing table

Donny arriving at his baby shower and Daddy serving cake:

Donny's favorite new toy, the Rainforest Jumperoo, recommended for babies ages 3 months and up. But who can wait that long to try out a new toy? Andy built it and put him right in it. He was content and fascinated for over ten minutes - he doesn't really fit, but add a couple of phone books and he even jumped a couple of times! We're going to add a product review to the website we bought it from recommending that 3 and 1/2 week olds love the jumperoo too!

One Week Old!

2007-07-08T13:55:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more pictures of Donny and family. His Grandma is a great photographer! The picture with him and the giraffe was on his one week birthday. I will post pictures of him and this giraffe periodically so you can all watch him grow with us!

We have a baby boy!

2007-07-03T13:13:00.000-07:00

Donald James Earl was born on Friday, June 29th at 8:10pm. He was 7lb 1 oz and 18 3/4 inches long.

We are thrilled with him, and having a splending babymoon at home. He's a little sleeper, letting us sleep for 6 or 7 hours a night. And at one week old, he is just starting to make great eye contact with us sometimes - and I swear he smiles at us already!

Daddy can't keep his hands off Donny. Whenever he is home, he is hogging the baby. He even changes most of the diapers. Only one of them was too gross for him to handle. Fortunately, grandma was close by.

Our New Arrival

2007-06-27T21:35:00.000-07:00

We have been blessed! Yesterday a group of our friends from our church community brought us a gift. We have been struggling to make ends meet, and were feeling pretty hopeless about doing anything about replacing our 250,000 mile Toyota with lots of character (which I have been driving for ten years) - it won't pass emissions testing so we haven't been able to register it, and we felt like we were driving a ticking time bomb that could go off at any moment. It needs CV boots, a transmission, a new door for the gas tank, air conditioner repairs... We were pretty low.

And then, last night we were surprised when a friend handed us a set of keys to a 98 Ford Escort wagon in perfect condition. I've cried every time I've told anyone about it - I'm crying now. I just can't believe how loved we are! Our precious new baby will have an air conditioned car to travel in! And I won't worry every day if my husband will make it to and from work! Maybe now I will learn to trust God to take care of us! We have good, good friends!

Below is our new addition, complete with a big red bow.

Ready to Pop!

2007-06-19T13:30:00.000-07:00

So I thought you'd all like to see pics of Bad Andy and his woman just moments or days before he becomes the father of a noisy little Shireling. We went out to my sister's home and had a photo shoot yesterday - almost exactly four years after the first time we had a photo shoot out there when we first met in person. I'm a bit bigger than I was then... I think Andy is a bit smaller - how does he do it?

August 2006

2006-08-04T19:32:00.000-07:00

Friday, August 04, 2006

Expanding Territory

Well, I am headed out the door today to go see my Andy for the first time in like 7 weeks! I am so excited! okay...I'm a bit nervous. I always get nervous about plane trips. As a matter of fact...I am posting today in case I don't make it so that you all know I love you. Morbid? I know. Anyway, I fly out at 7:55pm and end up in Tampa, Fl at 6:09am... A 7 hour plus trip with a 48 minute layover in Vegas (do you think I have time for the slots? or the money?)

Assuming that I make it safe and sound, my new map of the US states I've visited is here. It now includes Kansas, Missouri, and Florida! It's fun to add a state here and there to my concoured territories!

11:19 am

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

melting

It's 92 here and I hate it. Summer is for lizards and Satan who enjoy the heat.

7:24 pm

April 2006

2006-04-03T16:04:00.000-07:00

Monday, April 03, 2006

Currently Reading
Soup for President
By Robert Newton Peck

I'm Back!

Well, I am finally back to posting...although this will be a short one. Tomorrow I am moving into my first office! I am now the artistic director of Christian Youth Theater Vancouver - a dream job for me! I am currently packing my drama files and a few decorations and paper lanterns to take in tomorrow to settle in with. I will post more from there (since it is a desk job for about five hours a week I think I will be more likely to post from there than I am to go up to our spare room and log in.)

If you are interested in helping me out with my Johari Window follow the link!http://kevan.org/johari?name=Kim+o+the+Shire to see how well I know myself...

It's good to be back!

7:47 pm

Monday, October 31, 2005

Currently Reading
Church without Walls: A Global Examination of the Cell Church

Happy Halloween! It is raining hard today in Portland. That will make for a long wet day for Andy who is working outside all day with delivering mail and then picking up inflatable bouncers for Clowns. I will stay nice and dry unless the roof of the theatre leaks. We have our first dress rehearsal today for Godspell. I am so excited
12:47 pm

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

I'm currently listening to 3 versions of Godspell nonstop. Unfortunately the browser I am using on a school issue iMac isn't good enough for Xanga, and it won't let me search for the icon. Now who says Macs are always better?

Andy and I had a great weekend. On Saturday morning my cast members presented me with a birthday cake at rehearsal. That night Andy took me out to California Pizza Kitchen. I had a Thai chicken pizza... YUMMMMMMY! On Sunday we drove up to the Adna Grange for my grandmother's 90th birthday party. Her birthday was actually the 8th like mine, but we could get everyone together on the 9th, so that was what we did! It was nice to see family, and to give Andy the tour of Grandma's place. Afterwards, since we were already halfway there, we drove up to Seattle for a mini honeymoon. We stayed at a hotel near the airport then drove on up to Seattle in the morning where I gave my husband the 8 hour tour. He got to see the Fremont Troll, my college (SPU), and then we took a bus to the Seattle Center (we ate at Dick's) and the monorail to the Pike's Place Market and an elevator to the waterfront and Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe. Later we went to an antique shop and the Space Needle where we watched the gray skies darken into night. I asked Andy what his favorite thing had been...is anyone surprised that his answer was food? He loved the sourdough bread bowl with clam chowder from Ivar's. We sat on the dock to eat and fed the seagulls what we didn't want.

While we were sitting there an alarmed lady from down the pier asked us if we thought that man laying on the next dock was dead or alive. I looked over and right next to a fire and rescue boat was the inert from of a man. I could only see a bare foot sticking up over the rescue equipment. Quickly I realized that the "man" was really a dummy they had used for a rescue drill...but it was thrilling for a moment.

11:29 am

Monday, October 03, 2005

Currently Watching
Catch Me If You Can (Widescreen Edition)
By Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken

I am doing pretty good this Monday morning. I was scheduled to sub, but received a call this morning cancelling that job...so I will run errands, clean the house, block scenes for the weekend. I am waiting for a transfer to go through with my Starbucks store. I have a friend who asked if I would transfer to her store in order to help her out. She has a lot of new partners and needs someone experienced to help reinforce Starbucks standard. I willingly agreed...but now my current manager is not returning my phone calls. So I will try to track her down again today. Pray that this goes through without a hitch!

I also received an email this morning from my aunt regarding my cousin Holly. I wanted to pass this email on to you so that you will better know how to pray. Here it is:

The truth is that Holly and I are both feeling quite overwhelmed, dismayed,
and defeated. We can reason and know that God is still there, and He has a
plan. We may have moments of things being okay, but the next thing we know, nauseau, pain, or some other "crisis" is upon us. The majority of the
time life is so painful. Not even the tiniest fragment of our lives seems to be
"right", anymore. It takes away from our time with Holly's daddy,
siblings, extended family and friends. It affects everything.

The head surgeon at Doernbecher Children's Hospital does not give us any
hope for life to get better anytime soon~many months of the same to come. He also feels her abdomen is "inoperable"...making it impossible to fix
the original source of nauseau.Consequently, we are checking to see if it is at all possible, feasible, reasonable to get a second opinion at the Mayo
Clinic. There are many hoops to jump through, and they might come to the
same conclusions as Doernbecher's. I know that I don't want to do this if it
only means more painful tests, lots of extra (immense) bills, and more
separation from our family if we won't be finding something positive for
Holly. We are praying that God will lead us.

Our other concern is that Holly's liver function has not been good for a
while (with the IV TPN...Total Parenteral Nutrition), but is getting worse.
Also, her little face is quite puffy (to the point that she doesn't want to
see anyone she knows), and she is jaundiced. We are trying to straighten all
of this out, but it is a process, and she is not able to get off of the IV
nutrtion at this point, or anytime soon.

I pray that things will get better, somehow. I spend each day just "getting
through", and wishing this battle could end.

My heart is heavy for my family. I don't know how to help...

2:11 pm

September 2005

2005-09-27T15:57:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Currently Reading
Seizing Your Divine Moment : Dare to Live a Life of Adventure
By Erwin Raphael McManus

Holly is not doing very well. Those of you praying (thank you so much) will know a little bit about her situation...but to update you: Holly is at home now with only weekly trips to the hospital for check ups(a two hour drive). At home she deals with 24/7 naseau and other complications from an unsuccessful surgery. She just wants to be healthy enough to go to school like her other 13 year old friends. The doctors don't have any answers yet to the naseau problem...or any idea about how long she will have to stay out of school. Keep praying!

3:59 pm

Currently Listening
Godspell (1993 London Studio Cast)
By Stephen Schwartz

What's going on with me? Well, as you can see from my "listening to" feature, I am up to my eyballs in Godspell. Auditions were over a week ago and first rehearsals were last weekend. It was amazing to wander from room to room and see/hear the spirit of the show already alive. The cast learned the choreography to "Day By Day" and the trio that's singing "On The Willows" made me cry a little bit because they were so good. And our Jesus is really taking the responsibility seriously. It's not easy to play God.

I am teaching a Shakespeare survey class for this session at the children't theatre. I just finished "Midsummers" and "Taming of the Shrew." I think I'll teach them "Othello" this week. There are 14 kids in this class, and they are all excited to learn. What a huge difference from Freshman English and "Romeo and Juliet"!

I am subbing again for the year. I am in a special services classroom today. The kids are pretty good. I did have to send one to the office for making fun of me when I kicked him off a computer for playing games AGAIN. Other than that it is an easy three day stint for me. I am still on the payroll at Starbucks too, but I only work one or two shifts each week. Enough to cover my insurance basically.

Yesterday I finally finished unpacking. Yeah, I know I moved into my apartment a year and a half ago...but I never got to those last few tubs full. So yesterday with Andy gone all day at work I turned the living room into sorting central and unpacked everything. Now my side of the garage is a tidy row of Rubbermaid tubs with labels indicating what is actually inside (instead of the labels from three moves ago which now mean nothing). Now I can start sorting my closets for more things to get rid of...It feels so good to declutter my life!

Andy is working 10-12 hours every time he is called in or scheduled to work at the Post Office. Last week that was 6 days. So far this week it is three. He complains a lot about his back, neck and hand muscles and joints aching and hurting. It is probably going to take him some time to adjust to the work physically. He seems to think he will like the job when he gets fast enough to finish a route in 6-8 hours. He's only gauranteed one shift a week, but it seems like he will be working a lot more than that. This is a really good thing considering that we need the money...and they pay him $135 or so each day he works (depending on how many hours the route he is on is supposed to take).

Church is exciting right now. I am on a team of six that are working to plant a new church on January 1st. We are doing a lot of dreaming and reading about how to make our community relevant to the world. We've realized that Jesus is always relevant..but most of the programs that we've been involved in have only ministered to the people in the church. I have had a deep longing in my heart to be involved in what Christ is doing in the community at large. I am so excited to be involved in a church community that wants to do the same. Check out our web site!

Marriage is my favorite thing about life. Andy loves me so much. It is a wonderful thing to be loved like that. I used to have a list of all the character traits I wanted in a spouse. Although he has some of those traits, I've learned that those things do not a perfect mate make. He loves me. That's all I needed. Too mooshy for you? Sorry. I mean it. The past 16 months have easily been the best of my life. Well, I think I'd best focus on the kids again. They are getting increasingly loud.

3:45 pm

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Currently Reading
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6)
By J.K. Rowling

Spending lots of time in the Children's Hospital with my cousin Holly who is 13 and has had a rough summer. She needs a miracle. Her gall bladder surgery turned into...well, something else. She is stuck at the hospital with complications instead of being at home, going to summer camp, being a normal kid. She needs prayer. At this point she is not even allowed to eat or drink anything and is getting all her nourishment from an IV line. This is tough for her. Fortunately I live close by and am able to spend some time almost every day with her and her mom. But visits are not enough. She is encouraged by prayers and is even keeping track of the states and countries that have residents inside praying for her. If you are praying with us, leave me a comment or email with your location so I can add you to our list.

6:59 pm

Saturday, July 23, 2005

Currently Listening
Multiply
By Jamie Lidell

Well, summer is going well. It feels like a vacation to only work 40 hours a week. I have been nesting like crazy...putting up pictures, hanging paper lanterns, organizing and unpacking tubs that I haven't looked at since I was a Whittaker!

Frappaccino season is in full swing at Starbucks...and the ludicrous names of our newest additions is mind boggling. For example "Decaf Double Venti Carmel Affaggato with whip Carmel Frappaccino Light blended coffee." or "Venti Mocha Affagato Malt Mint Mocha Chip Frappaccino blended coffee." I am usually a stickler about making my baristas say drinks correctly, but this new addition of crazy modifiers has made me a bit lax with them. Of course I say them correctly every time. It's way more fun that way.

With summer halfway over now, I am thinking really hard about the fall. I have applied for a position as artistic director of a children's theatre in Vancouver, Washington. Please pray with me that this job will happen for me. I think I'd really like to quit working for Starbucks and have a grown up career. I am planning to start working towards grad school if I don't get that job. Andy and I are ready to move wherever I get into a good MFA directing program. In any case, we will need to think about purchasing our own insurance starting from three months after I quit at Starbucks. If you have any great insights on that dilemma, let us know!

Last week was the week of company. I had such a good time with Kathy Shire (mother in law) and Ande Abramovich (best friend from New York) visiting. The weather is finally summerlike...maybe they brought that with them? In any case, I have housework to do...no more procrastinating.

6:08 pm

June 2005

2005-06-07T15:50:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, June 07, 2005

I think maybe the comments I left yesterday about kids really applies better to freshmen and sophomores. I have juniors and seniors today and I am feeling a renewed sense of hope for the future of our country. I still think our kids need more discipline... maybe that's why these kids are in advanced math though...they are the ones that were given some boundaries. hmmm bears thinking about!

12:11 pm

Monday, June 06, 2005

Currently Watching
JULIUS CEASAR
By MARLON BRANDO

Well, 365 days of wedded bliss have now passed for Kim Shire. In honor of the big day I have changed my Xanga skin to match our wedding colors. I am subbing in an English class today. I am blown away by what teens these days think is acceptable behavior. They laugh at me when I tell them to be quiet. They are amused not by the content I am teaching, but by the fart noises that an immature classmate is making with his desk. They think it is okay to openly defy an adult (I very quickly send the message home that it is NOT okay with me.) I feel sorry for the 75% of the class that feels completely overtaken with the antics of the rest of the group. How are American kids going to learn if most teachers spend 25% of their time on review, 25% of their time on pointless district requirements and 45% of their time on classroom management? If they are the future, I am afraid to leave myself in their hands as a senior citizen one day...

How do we as a Christians make ourselves relevant enough to make a difference in the world? We have to combat the socialist dogma that is encoded into our apathetic young at public school. We have to fight the victim mentality that the media and justice system have firmly lodged into their brains.

Ah, well, maybe we should move to Canada.

Or maybe we should stay and find a way to make a difference for some.

Being 30something can be a troubling thing...

sigh...

2:43 pm

Thursday, May 26, 2005

Currently Watching
Yoga Zone - Introduction to Yoga (Beginners)

Feeling divine sense of peace today.
Subbing for dance classes -
in other words, YOGA DVDs.
Relaxed.
Very relaxed.
mmmmmm

2:05 pm

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Currently Watching
A Hard Day's Night
By John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr

Post production blues have set in.
HONK! closed on Sunday, and since then I have been unable to sit still.
Unfortunately, I also have no energy and
all I want is pizza hut and chocolate.
Where is that next play?
Gotta be busy with that!
Hee hee
going crazy

subbing in a band class today.
kids are watching Beatles movies.
I had to leave the room or I was going to fall asleep.
Such a shame too, since i am a big White Album fan....
I just can't stay awake if I'm not BUSY!

11:53 am

Sunday, May 01, 2005

Well, my little sis graduated college yesterday. The ceremony was as usual...lots of people I don't know saying unmemorable things on stage. I did find out from the keynote speaker that flowers don't play with red rubber balls and kittens don't know anything about math. There was a point to that, but somehow I don't remember that part. Isn't that how life is sometimes - we remember the anecdotes, but not the lesson we were supposed to learn from them.

After the graduation I got to visit with some of my kids (aka former students and actors) as three of them graduated yesterday from George Fox. Along for the veiwing were seven others. It was great to catch up a bit with them. I am in shock that my own commencement day was ten years ago. I guess it's about time to get back to that grad degree I've been wanting for seven years now.

After we mingled with the pomp and circumstance crowd on the GFU track, Andy and I played cheuffer for my 13 year old cousin out to the family shin dig. Andy decided that we should drive a new way to the rural home of my other sister. It was a scenic drive through the best of Oregon....but it was also a heckalong drive. All I wanted to do was fall asleep for a nice nap, but in the back seat was my talkative cousin with all the seventh grade gossip to share... What a painful age! You are old enough to know that adults aren't thrilled with making conversation with you, but too young to comprehend why. I make a huge effort with her to make her feel grown up... So a long hour and a half later we arrived. Andy only had five or six bite marks on his right arm from when I got uncontrollably hungry (Holly thought this was funny too).

The visit with the family was great. Highlights include Bailey the chocolate lab, a walk with Andy and another cousin into the canyon to see the bridge that my brother in law built, bleating at goats, hugging Grandma, celebrating with my baby brother and his nearly fiance at the blessings of her parents, eating smoky BBQed chicken breasts and home canned beans, kissing Andy to embarass the future sister in law, banana peanut butter chocolate pie, deuling laptops with "life of Joann" slide shows running non stop. And hug upon hug. (mmmm...hugs).

Heard on the drive home: Kim: "Thanks for making me feel like a newlywed tonight." Andy: "Well...you make me feel so loved."

And my favorite moment of all: slipping into obliviousness on my pillow less than two seconds after my head hit it.

mmmmm....a nap sounds good about now.

12:09 pm