cruisin'

Here I am again. This blog still has two authors!

We are getting very close to moving time. The summer has been extremely busy, but I think we're doing ok on packing. As with most things, we figured that packing with Lucas would take at least one and a half times as long as it's supposed to (we regularly [and with surprising accuracy] use this method to estimate travel times). That may have been an underestimate, but fortunately we started packing very early. Now our little place is lined with boxes and one of the hardest parts of packing a new box is figuring out where to put it when it's done. I think we've finally reached the stage where it's hard to know what to pack next because all that's left are things we'll need until only a few days are left and things that end up in a box labeled "misc." How many boxes are you allowed to label as miscellaneous before you get to the point where you should have sorted it all first and labeled more specifically? We will find out and let you know.

I just finished teaching my last class at UD. It was enjoyable and frustrating. I had some very bright students, but I've never taught a class that, as a whole, was as seemingly disinterested as this one was. Half the class seemed to be trying, but the other half was checked out. Attendance was terrible and many students were clearly coming to class unprepared. They didn't do their homework. They didn't study the problems I told them to study. Still, I enjoyed teaching. I enjoyed the students who did put in the time and effort to understand the material. I enjoyed planning a class so that everything fit together into a cohesive, logical structure that built on itself as it went. I'm excited to move on to MBU where I will no longer have to use chalk (seriously, it's 2015) and where I'll be able to teach upper-level classes. It's also been fun being "Dr. Vermette."

In my last post I said that Lucas could almost crawl. He was army crawling all over, just dragging himself around, but he couldn't hands-and-knees crawl. I can't believe that was only 3 months ago. That kid can move. He gets up bright and early sometime between 5 (ouch) and 7. He doesn't stop moving (except briefly for nap time) until he goes to bed. He can crawl like a fiend, but he prefers standing up against the furniture, trying to climb onto it (or up our legs), and cruising like crazy (a quick search on the google turns this up for those who haven't heard of cruising in this context). This kid loves to cruise. I'll just say it: he's on the verge of walking. Of course, I know babies can be on the verge of walking for a long time before they actually walk. If I had to guess, though, I'd say he'll be walking very soon. He wants it. You can see it in his eyes. He wants to move. Oh! He also loves to dance. He has this swaying wiggle that he does while sitting, while standing, while laying on the changing pad, pretty much all the time. And, of course, we can't forget the booty-wiggling mini-squats. The world may not be ready for these dance moves. Everyone knows that little kids have tons of energy. I never knew it started so soon, and I never knew just how much energy people mean when they say that. A day with Lucas is fun, fulfilling, and exhausting.

Recently he's started hugging us. Sometimes he's just holding on while we carry him, but other times he's really hugging! It turns out if you hug someone for 9 months, they will start to figure out what it means and do it back. Loving (and being loved!) by this miniature fellow is beyond anything I ever imagined. The adventure continues!

glimpses

Being a mom is everything I have ever imagined.

I love carrying a tiny person on my hip and dancing around the room.

I love doing the dishes and feeling a warm, sturdy little body sitting up against the back of my legs. 

I love folding the laundry and having to sort the tiny clothes out from the normal-sized clothes.

I love reaching the end of the day, when Lucas has been sleeping for several hours and I have already started to miss him, and putting on my glasses only to find a perfect little fingerprint on one lens and a slobber smear on the other.

I love seeing the colorful assortment of plastic bowls and spoons drying on the kitchen counter.

I love how packing is a three steps forward, one step back kind of event now - three books in, one book out courtesy of Lucas.

I love the clutter of toys strewn about our living room.

Being a mom is satisfying beyond words.

Even when a goodnight kiss ends up being a curry-scented milk burp on your cheek.

So satisfying.

May I never take my little boy or this life for granted.

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Even though I do not personally know the Swindals, I have been following the heartbreaking story of Baby Ollie. My  heart has been so heavy for them these past few weeks. When I heard about Oliver's passing last night, all I wanted to do was hold Lucas and never let him go, never stop thanking God for the health and beauty of my baby boy, never take a moment that I've been given with him for granted. So many prayers for peace and comfort for the family. I pray God is able to fill their hearts and minds with the images and sounds of little Baby Ollie dancing in the fields of heaven.

Even in the midst of pain and sorrow, God is a good God. 

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

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The apple of my eye.