Kate Looking Cute, Nathan Looking Tall, Cranes Eating Breakfast

 Kate looking cute in her little girl outfit.  Meg was always such a tomboy, it surprised me (and her, she told me) that Meg likes to dress Kate in GIRL clothes:  pink, bows, ruffles.  Jon's clothes were always pretty neutral--a car on the front of the shirt and he was ready to go.  

Nathan and me two Sundays ago.  Brent took the photo for me--but after a long "Day of Rest," he was ready to rest.  Nathan and I have become good friends.  It is wonderful that he feels comfortable enough with me to tell me stuff about his problems, his worries, and the Legos that fill a great amount of space in his bedroom.  He is a Sophomore and will graduate with his AS (Associates in Science) this  spring.  Then he is off to BYU.  

Nathan is really good at seeing cool bugs, birds, frogs, toads, reptiles all around our home in Florida.  This was a moth during its last moment of life.  Because it was on a porch screen at night, I had a hard time getting a good focus.  Nathan went outside and !Voila!  The moth is actually dark, forest green and gold with bright stripes on the front of its face.  Amazing.  

These are one of the sand hill crane pairs that rotates around the neighborhood in their search for food.  A few years ago, one of the males was so laid back that I could sit in front of him as he ate and stroke the red crown that covers part of his head.  It is soft, bumpy skin--cool and firm.  None of the other birds that have returned or arrived have ever had this crane's calm demeanor.  I love that these huge birds will follow me around and call for me if there is no food out.  It's the kind of pet that Brent really likes:  no vet bills, no potty boxes to clean out, no molting feathers floating around inside the house.  Also, they don't cost anything.  Big bonus in Brent's eyes.

Brent Thinks I'm Zoning Out and Soon I Will Get to See Lauren in Utah

I was looking over the last few entries in this blog. They have been filled with thoughts about Brent and Nate and Meg--the three people with whom I have the most interaction right now. I talk to Lauren every other day or so. Nathan has now decided that he needs to check up on how La is doing, too. I don't know if it is something that she notices--something that helps--or just another thing to manage as she works her way from sun up past sun down every day.

I haven't been taking pictures of things around me lately. No news of the rabbits or the lizards or the cat. The only thing that I really notice is that time slips through my fingers every day as easily as money does. Cool bugs and spiders, butterflies and caterpillars--where I once would have had Nathan or Brent "Stop! Hold still! Let me get my camera! I NEED a picture of this!" I now notice the creature and then go on with my world. There are so many incredible bits around me--I just don't have the energy lately to document their existence and preserve it in my own record.

Time for bed. I miss Meg and La and Nathan all being here. The house is much emptier than I would have thought it could be

Day Six for Kate

The Original Three!

Meg, Jon, Anton

Megan: Artist, Friend, Vocalist, Daughter, Wife,

and Mother Extraodinaire

Kate:

The Newest Member of the Team

Good news! After a week of throwing tantrums whenever he saw his sister, Jon is now able to stay in the same room with her--as long as she doesn't move or make noise.

Progress.

Kate is now 6 pounds and 4 ounces. I'm attaching some photos of her and of Jon, Meg and Anton. The rest of my photos have been of Jon showing me one of his trucks/trains/cars--the truck/train/car right up next to the camera and a glimpse of his eyes or chin in the background. I'm not sending any of those since the only person who is fascinated with them is Jon.

On Kate's Third Day

Mom and Kate

Dinnertime

Close-up of big brother Jon

Princess Kate herself.

First Photos of Kate at Hospital

New Father, Mother, Brother and Baby

After a long 24 hours, Jon is finally reunited with his mom and dad--and makes peace with his new sister who was smart enough to bring him a present when they first met. It was a Thomas the Tank Engine and a few other assorted train cars. "Toot! Toot!" After Jon was able to spend some time reconnecting with Anton and Meg, I got to bring Kate over and have Jon actually look at her tiny face. He was ready to acknowledge the source of the suffering he had just experienced as Meg and Anton had needed to leave him in the care of others--others he knew, but who weren't Mom and Dad and who appeared suddenly and seemed to take the place of Mom and Dad.

As he first really saw her, Meg encouraged him to "Give her soft pats . . ." which, of course, he did with much tenderness and precision. At this point, Kate was able to "give" Jon the train set that Megan had so carefully choosen and prepared. At that point, Jon seemed to feel that his world was again a safe and happy place. He also remembered to thank Kate repeatedly for the train set. Smart sister. Incredible mom.

Megan with Kate. Both are so tiny and perfectly formed--incredible.

Megan also spends time admiring Jon's new Lego truck and trailer, picked out and constructed and then glued together by Uncle Nate.

An almost-silouette of Anton, Meg and Jon against the hospital window.

This one is for Nate. The Lego creation was a BIG HIT! Jon took it to bed with him tonight . . . very high praise indeed.

It is very late--after midnight--but I wanted to get these first photos up so that you could all see the newest addition to our family. I am tired--Jon emotionally and physically exhausted. I am sore--Meg just beginning to heal from giving birth. I feel overwhelmed--Anton now with an additional child to nurture and care for.

I have it very easy. It is good to be here in Maryland with Meg and her family. Their home is a refuge and an enchanting place where Meg's artwork adorns the walls and Anton's papers collect in columns of strength as he works, serves the Bishop and cares for his family. Jon and I had ice cream tonight for dinner. For breakfast, Jon and I will probably have left-over macaroni and cheese that Meg made a few nights ago. WAAAAA! The world is upside down and all in the right place at the same time.

Twenty-second Birthday of a Man Whom it is Hard-to-Remember-That-I-Once-Cradled-in-My-Arms.

Incredible tee shirt designed and executed by his sister, Megan. Kudos to her for a really awesome (his own word) present.

Meg's own signature and the date of her creation.

Brent and Nate on Nate's 22nd birthday. They are both so tall. And I do not think that they will ever really realize how strong they are. When either offers to rub my back, they start softly but quickly change to pressure and (in Brent's case) pushing on my spine in an effort to assuage the (constantly disintegration of my vertebrae--long other story that has no application here except to indicate that they are trying to help) stiffness of my back. In fact, Brent then starts to push on the middle of my spine in an effort to get it to "pop" back into place.

I do not do "pop."

You get the idea.

I Am Grateful for Rain, Orange Semi Trucks, and Rusty Nails

Pictures of Jon in his natural habitat.

Jon and 2 dump trucks, two race cars, and a handful of MardiGras beads.

It had been raining all day. We came out of the building on our way to run some errands and Jon found a spout and a puddle of water. Mom went to run the errands and Grandma watched while Jon explored and played in the small oasis of water. Two of his greatest loves, water and trucks, combined to occupy him completely for the better part of an hour. Only when his hands were all puckery from so much time in his small pool and his sleeves sodden from the splashing and the drizzling rain did Jon finally stand up and look around. He saw me and lifted the sopping wet cuffs of his jacket to show me--he then decided that he was thirsty and sucked on the sponges that now surrounded his wrists. I asked if he were ready to go in and he reluctantly nodded. I began to walk around the corner to the main door of the apartment complex--Jon, still held mesmerized by the magic of the downspout's miniature waterfall. I walked slowly--only glancing back out of the corner of my eye. Jon still stood there--watching the water trickle down from the spout. He noticed my absence and walked quickly to catch up with me at the corner. "Where's your truck?" I asked. Looking around him, he spotted the bright orange of one of his favorite tracker trailers and ran back to recover it. He fetched it, but was still reluctant to surrender and come inside--where he had been stuck for the last three days--held captive by the frigid rain and high winds. I kept walking, he finally caught up with me and we went back inside and upstairs to his apartment; home.

I am enchanted by the faerie look of him here.

While Jon was playing with his truck and the water, he also found a few rusty nails that had been washed off of the roof--who knows how long ago. He found one that was about 3 inches long. Now, one of Jon's joys in life is putting things INTO other things: he specializes in putting his smaller cars into his larger cars. This nail, he discovered, was the perfect size to put into the circular slot where the semi connected with the trailer. He carefully placed the nail into its place and, for a time, concentrated exclusively in "giving a ride" to the nail--pushing the semi carefully on the sidewalk around where he was crouching. He attempted to place some muddy soil onto the top of the nail so that he could then wash it off in the water dripping from the downspout. The nail, he discovered, did not possess the lateral surface area to carry the dribble of mud in sufficient quantity for Jon to then put it under the spout and clean if off. The semi, however, as well as the trailer were perfect for this process and he spent a long time carefully getting the vehicles "dirty" and then immediately washing them clean again. His hands, too, it must be noted, were also washed completely clean after each mud-to-truck-to-downspout cycle. He found great satisfaction in creating a logical series of events and then carrying out that series again and again. Very serious stuff--must be repeated to be perfected and established as a viable system in Jon's world.

I write this and wonder what things I am trying to link and then repeat in order to give my daily experiences order and routine.

Here, he sits on my small suitcase as he tells me about his red COOL CAR.