Kierst

I pulled out an old scrapbook yesterday and thumbed through the pages looking for a certain picture of a certain someone from a long time ago. Didn't find it, but I did find one that made me stop and think about life. This picture is of me and my cousin Kiersten Gemar at my brother's wedding (August of 2002). She passed away last October from a seizure in the night. Her mom, Shelli, is one of my best friends. I tried sending the picture to Shell as an attachment in email, but she couldn't open it. So I decided to post it on the blog. (Please excuse the girl whose lap she is sitting on. That was a long time ago!)
I had to scan it in, so it isn't the best quality, but it will do. I also tried to post it on Kiersten's memorial blog, but I wasn't quite sure how to do that. Linda, maybe you could help me out . . .
Anyway, if we were living in Shelley right now, I know Kierst would be coming over probably every day so she could play with Summer. And Rhett and I would be able to go out movies and dinner and Kierst would babysit for us. (That is, if we had the money!) To me, one of the most difficult things about losing someone is the hopes and dreams of the future that will never be. In the hospital room, right after I had Summer, Shelli said we could now do mother-daughter piano quartets (well, when Summer can actually play the piano). I was so excited for that.
Kierst, what a special girl you are. We sure miss you.

PS What is with this innate drive for babies to crawl away naked when you're trying to change their diaper?

Summer in the Winter

Well, Summer's sure growing like crazy--at least in length. At her last doctor's appointment, January 9th, she was 25 3/4 inches long and weighed a little more than 12 lbs. She's in the fifth percentile with her weight, but the doctor said not to worry as long as her development is on track. And it is! She is crawling like crazy--mom can hardly keep up. She even pulls herself up at the couch, her carseat, and anything else that is just the right height. (We attribute the low weight to an accidental feeding of prunes a few days before the doctor's appointment. They cleaned her out!)

She is also now giving us kisses--a slobbery, open-mouth touch to our cheek. We love it. Her favorite solids right now are the rice cereal and the sweet potatoes. (She likes the barley cereal okay, but really dislikes the carrots.) She is so much fun. This is a clip from over Christmas break. Aunt Kate had just changed her diaper and was tickling her. Summer hadn't ever laughed like this before, and she really hasn't laughed like it since. She loves her Aunt Kate!

Dad's doing well in school. Finals were pretty much what he expected. Summer and I are proud of his hard work. He's also started playing on a Gonzaga basketball team. Not THE Gonzaga basketball team; it's just an intermurals league, but it's been fun for him.

And Mom's just keeping busy with chasing Summer down and trying to keep her out of the dangerous "toys" and keeping her tummy full and her diaper clean. And she's loving it. She's trying to stay caught up with the laundry (has anyone ever figured out how to stay caught up with the laundry?), on the ball with making the meals, running the errands, and taking a scuba diving class. And in her spare time, she plays Scrabble and Rummikub with Dad. Could life get any better?

Christmas

We had a good Christmas. Our travels both ways were safe, and we were able to spend time with mostly all our family. (I've been trying to upload video clips these past few days, but for some reason--internet, blog site, etc.--they haven't worked. So pictures will have to do for now.)

One of our favorite traditions is when Santa just happens to show up every year when we are having our family party. This year, I came upstairs and this is what I saw:

After the Santa surprise, we did our yearly nativity. This year, Mabree was the angel,

Brecken was the donkey (hee haw-ing the WHOLE time), Kate was Mary, Dad was Joseph, Summer was Baby Jesus,

Jill, Lance, and Rhett were wisemen,

and Bry and Myka were shepherds. I was the photographer, and Mom was the narrator.

More later. I'm going to post now before the internet stops working and I lose everything!