Suspicions

Last week, we took Luke to the doctor and she confirmed what we had been suspecting-

That Luke is, indeed. . .

And we couldn't be prouder.

His weight is in the 100th percentile and his height is in the 98th for a four month old.

We produce very thirsty babies.

Date Night

Last night, Cody and I had the rare opportunity to go out on a date night. I didn't realize how long it had been until we were walking into the restaurant sans children (well, except Luke, but he is so easy going, it was like we were sans children) and I felt giddy at the idea of eating out and not having to fight with anyone to stop standing on the chair or to stop drinking out of my cup. Once we were done with dinner, well, we didn't really know what to do with ourselves. Originally we had planned on going kayaking, but it was cold, rainy, and very windy, so that ix-nay-ed that. There were no movies in the theater that we had any desire to see, the go-cart place we considered going to had closed down, and we didn't feel like wandering the mall (because we are not 17). So what were we to do? We were baffled. We couldn't think of a single thing to do. We had been jonesin' for a date night for so long and here we were, unable to think of a single thing that we could do on a rainy night.

So we went to Michael's, the craft store.

Real romantic, I know (but secretly, I was excited to be there). We bummed around there for a while, picking up a couple of crafts to do with the kids and when we went out to the car, it was only 7:2o pm. Now what?

We ended up deciding to sit in the parking lot in our car, watch the rain fall down on the windows and just talk. It was actually really nice, the kind of thing we use to do way back when we were just dating. Of course, back then we didn't have a baby asleep in the back seat. But that just kinda made it all the better.

And this afternoon, the gir ls and I made the bunny house that was the fruit of our date last night. I say that, even if you think our date night was lamo, it turned out pretty good for all of us.

Pumpkin Patch 101

Pumpkin Patch 101:
with your instructor, Claire.

This is how I found Claire one day. Cody had given her some pumpkin seeds (the salted, baked kind) and she decided to go outside and plant them. I am glad she has the passion for gardening, but it is a good thing we won't be here in the fall for her to wonder why her pumpkin plant hasn't grown in yet.

Where are we going to be in the fall?

Why, Alabama, of course.

We are going to be real southerners for a couple of years and we are pretty excited about it (minus the intense humid heat- why can't I escape it-ahhhhh!).

On things Unfamiliar and Familiar

A decade or so ago, I use to watch Supermarket Sweep on the tele and think to myself, "This game would be fun to play." I am most especially talking about the part where the contestants have to run around the store, looking for particular items, like Crisco, or Cascade dish washing detergent. I use to think I might be kind of good at that. Well, in this last decade or so, reality has hit and one of my very least favorite, most annoying things ever, is grocery shopping in an unfamiliar store. I don't know the layout; everything takes forever to find; I have to go back and forth, one side of the store to the other. It's one aspect of moving that I really dread: finding and familiarizing myself with a new grocery store.

I don't really have a point with this musing, just strong feelings about it, so I wrote it down. You're welcome.

Speaking of things unfamiliar to me, several weekends ago I made my way up to Pittsburgh, with kids in tow. Now it has only been (or already been, depending on how you look at it) nine months since we moved, so Pittsburgh is actually very familiar to me, but it looked a little unfamiliar, being that it was all covered in 3+ feet of snow. I would come to intersections that I knew so well, but I would have a bit of confusion remember which road was what, due partly to the snow making everything look a bit, well, white, and due partly to my nine months absence. And the feeling I got was haunting nostalgia for a place that I love and a place that I may never have the chance to visit again. It's a tough feeling for me. The homes, the intersections, the buildings, the trees, the HILLS. They all brought memories of good times and good people tumbling back to me. Well, except for the hills. I honestly forgot about how any turn you take in Pittsburgh will lead you to a steep hill and that brings a whole flood of bad driving-on-steep-hills memories. Though the hills are lovely.

We had a good visit with our friends and it was very much worth the long drive, the napless days, the late nights to spend some time with friends. Claire and Morgan had such a good time playing with 'Pixburgh' friends , Luke was an angel the entire trip, and I enjoyed my visit (and the food) immensely.

As we were driving out of the 'burgh, I decided to make a little visit on the street where we once lived to see if Claire could still pick out the little brick house we called home for four years. As we drove down the street, she kept saying, "is that one it? is that one it?" But then as we passed our house, she said with confidence and delight, "oh, there it is!" Seeing the street where we lived, the center of our Pittsburgh life, was the hardest part of the trip for me (well, I guess not as hard as the part where I was seriously convinced and panicked that I was going to run out of gas in the toll booth on the freeway). It made me happy to see the little house, exactly as we left it. And then we drove by a little side road to which Claire said, "Hey, that's the way to Keegan's house." Cue tears. My tears. I cried, not Claire. She remembers, I remember our life there. For those memories, I am thankful.

And something I wasn't quite expecting was that as we pulled into our town in Virginia, it looked familiar, it had the feeling of coming home, which was such a stark difference from the feeling of foreignness it held nine months ago as we pulled in to our new town. This time, it's familiarity was as comfortable as putting on a favorite baggy hoody.

Of course, now that I have found that comfort, we will be moving again in three months and we'll start this whole familiar, unfamiliar story again. And I will have to find a new grocery store.

Shoot.