The Geese Fly Northeast for the Weekend...

Last weekend, my parents hosted the Wild Geese for a relaxing, beautiful weekend in Western PA.

We were greeted by a delicious cake!

There was swimming.And bocce.

A campfire!And a corn roast!

And pocket dinners, cooked in the fire.


Mmmmmm...corn. Says Karl.And the youngest (and cutest) gosling of them all!

Will Regards Paddington

That's all.

Chillin' like a villian

These days we're teaching Will a number of important skills. How to eat. How to smile. How to travel. You know, the basics.

Next up on the list: how to chill out, preferably with his homies.

He recently sneaked out to his Grandpa Meyer's 1976 Fiat to practice, and we caught of picture of him doing it.

Fortunately, Grandpa Meyer came along for a photo op and to show him how it's really done.

Later, after a long day of cruisin' and chillin', Maeby taught Will a thing or two about relaxing. Here she is teaching him how to throw yourself on the floor with a sigh, stretch out, and sleep like a champ.

The Intense Child: A Picturebook

I want to introduce you to my little man.

With a mother like me, it only follows that my son would be intense.

It's so cute when other moms talk about their quiet, easygoing babies. How nice for you.

Nothing else can turn a group of adults into squeaking, laughing idiots like Will breaking into a showstopping grin.

But he's a sneaky one... the second you think he's all calm and content...

...something sets him off...

...and with no explanation, he starts yelling at the top of his voice...

...and then he's fine again.

The End.

Ambush

Most of you know I have a pretty cool job - I run a few companies for Paul Robinett, an internet celebrity and entrepreneur from here in Columbus. He hired me 3 years ago to organize his life and manage some stuff he was doing, including a boutique candle shop he owns. It's been great fun, and I've been able to surround myself with family and friends doing it.

But what if God has other plans? What if there are other things for someone like me to restore, organize, and grow? How does He orchestrate ripping me from a job I love without me rebelling...as I am so wont to do? Well, He ambushes me out of the blue.

In what can only be described as an World-Class Ambush Job Interview during a sunny afternoon social visit, I received a job offer last Wednesday from Patrick Crawford of Spindle Studios, a graphic design firm here in Columbus. Patrick designed the fabulous Wild Goose Creative logo, and is also an associate pastor of our church. Robin Oatts who designed the Goose website (and took Will's pics) is a designer there as well. I was very familiar with Spindle, who just moved into our neighborhood - literally 1 block south of our house. Patrick offered me the position of Studio Manager, where I would provide organization, management, and business growth to this already-thriving company.

Nick and I were surprised at the emotional nature of this decision. For six years, the candle shop has been a huge part of our Columbus experience - our first apartment was located 3 floors above it, and at least one of us has been working there for 5 years now. Paul is a great boss, and has been an amazing friend and true inspiration since I've known him. Managing Renetto is challenging, fun and exciting, and is owned by Paul and Steve and Dave, three great guys with awesome ideas! How can we possibly make this decision?

Through many tears, conversations, and prayers, Nick and I simply tried to see where the path was leading. And this time, it led away from my comfort zone and in a new direction, testing my loyalty, faith, and trust. I accepted the position at Spindle and am SO excited at the thought of this new job. This company is so incredible, and Patrick, Robin, and the other folks are uber-talented and just plain cool. We know this is the right choice, without a doubt, but I will miss what I have worked so hard at for the past three years. However, now I get to further hone my skills and use my talents to serve at another amazing business. Bring it on!

What else is going on...?

As Beth's previous post said, we're trying to find a schedule for ourselves these days. Not that things have been chaotic; we've been able to do quite a bit with Will, including a little bit of travel, going out to eat, taking him to church, taking walks with Maeby in the park. But there's been a lot happening in the past few weeks/months. Let's see...

* Our backyard has taken shape nicely this year. In the spring we planted a bunch of new things, including some small trees, tomatoes, lavender, casablanca lilies, morning glories, clematis, sea oats, hydrangea, a lilac, and a slew of herbs like sage, rosemary, and basil.

The day lilies had a great run this year; they love that long patch alongside our big fence. Pictured above is the last bloom of the year, taken this morning!

* We also have two birdfeeders hanging off the back of the house. One is a finch feeder and one is a regular feeder. The birds empty the regular feeder in about a day; they just dive into the seed like they've never been fed. Anyway... a few weeks ago I noticed some plants sprouting next to the stairs by the back door. I was being lazy at the time, so didn't pick the plants (I was weeks behind on weeding the back). And I'm glad I didn't, because one of them grew into a sunflower! It took me a few minutes to realize that it came from one of the spilled sunflower seeds from the birdfeeder!

* The weather lately has been stunning. After a hot and humid July, August has mellowed out and given us cool mornings on the porch and wonderful sunny days. Honestly, we haven't turned on the AC in two weeks... in August... in Ohio!

* Let's see, what else? Well, in mid-July I finished teaching Ohio State's first online version of Intro to Theatre. It's a funny conundrum, to teach a course all about live interaction... online. But it proved pretty successful; we had about 110 students total, and we all learned a lot! Sometime this school year we'll begin teaching the online version regularly. For now, I'm off from teaching until mid-September (quarter system, baby!), at which point I will go back to teaching Intro to Theatre and dramaturging a new play at OSU called Pangea.

* Over the past couple weeks, we've been doing a laaaaaaaate spring cleaning. Wild Goose Creative is holding a fundraiser over Labor Day weekend. We're doing a garage and bake sale to raise more for our new space (more on that later!) and for our events. Pictured above is our pile of stuff to donate to the cause. Oh, it feels soooooooooo good to purge the house. At the same time, we've been combing through our kitchen, bathrooms, and offices. It took me nearly a week to clean my entire office. In the end, I had a huge stack of books to donate, and had shredded about six trash-cans-worth of old paperwork. I keep imagining the foundations of our house sighing in relief as we lighten its load.

* Wild Goose Creative is also helping produce a festival of short plays at Calvin College in October. This festival will feature plays by alumni, and is part of the Calvin Theatre Company's 75 anniversary.

* I'm selling two items on ebay. Anyone want an unopened Star Wars Lego set or an iPhone with a broken front?

* And here's a picture of Will. Seriously, how could I write a blog post without mentioning the three-time winner of the Cutest Boy in the World Award?

Routine?

I'm surprised that the two most frequent questions I get now are "Is Will on a schedule yet?" and "Is Will sleeping through the night yet?" Because of the frequency of these questions, I'm assuming that these are some of the first goals of a new parent. Until now, I've just tried to go with the flow - but now that going back to work is seemingly around the corner, I'm realizing that - for everyone's sanity - we need to set more of a schedule. So here goes nothing!


So, yes, Will is starting on a schedule and we're working on sleeping through the night...your prayers are coveted!

Laughing at the World

True to his middle name, William has already brought a lot of laughter to the world. Beth and I have commented that, as soon as he could see the world, Will was laughing at it. He'll sit in our arms or in his boppy and smile and laugh at people's voices, lights, and the ceiling fan. Finally we caught a quick laugh on camera, so enjoy!

Smiles for Grandma and Grandpa Dekker

On their way to Lexington yesterday, Nick's parents couldn't resist stopping to visit their newest grandson! Although a little fussy at first, a little time outside on the porch (one of his favorite places) and he was all smiles!

Showing off those long arms and legs for Grandpa Dekker...a source of the genes that gave him those long limbs!

Kisses from Grandma Dekker!

And one big smile for good measure! He's started to laugh, too, which is the most incredible sound in the world. Stay tuned for the video! We'll get it recorded one of these days!

10 Things I've Learned in 1 Month of Motherhood

1. It DOES get better! Everyone ISN'T lying!

2. Everything your child does is the most spectacular thing you've ever seen, and clearly he is the most brilliant child ever.

3. Adult conversations no longer center around the finer points of a piece of art or the nation's current events; your child's sleeping habits and bowel movements (frequency, color, consistency) are far more interesting.

4. Traveling to public places with your baby might feel like you're carrying a ticking time bomb, but more people understand than you might think.

5. Just because your child is crying doesn't make you a bad mother.

6. Trust your instincts. You know more than you think you do.

7. Cloth vs. disposable diapers, cradle vs. nursery sleeping, breast vs. bottle, pacifier vs. not...whatever. Do what's best for you and love your kid.

8. The generosity of your already-amazing friends and family never ceases to blow you away.

9. Learning how and when to feed is very hard, and breastfeeding proponents can be very intense, but you'll eventually find something that works for you.

10. It is possible to miss your child after being away from him for a few minutes.

Will's first swim!

Last week we went up to Greenville, PA to hang out with Beth's parents for a couple days. We managed to get some nice weather, so we took Will for his first swim in the pool. After all, we need to prepare him for the beaches of the Outer Banks in June 2009! Notice his cute diaper cover in the picture above. Alligators have somehow become a theme for him: they're on his clothes, his crib mobile, in his toy box, and on the walls of his nursery!


Overall, the foray into the pool was a success. Will seemed a little uneasy in the water, and I'd be lying if I said there was no crying, but most of the time he just dangled his feet while someone held him. His Grandpa Meyer even raised the heat on the pool to accommodate Will's preference for warmer temperatures!

We captured some video of the event, too, for your enjoyment!

Normal

I know "Normal" is just as overused a word as "natural," and neither really mean much. But I have a dilemma. How much are babies supposed to cry? I mean, I know they cry. They eat, sleep, poo, and cry. This is all they know to do. But how much is too much?

Right now, Will has wonderful moments of wakefulness, looking around and laughing at lights (his newest past time) and searching for the nearest face to study. People comment on his big eyes and cute face, and seem to really enjoy him. But then Mr. Hyde appears. For some reason, our happy smiling baby just bursts into tears and needs constant consoling to settle down. This consoling can include the 5 S's (Shushing, Swaying, Sucking, Swaddling, and Side), or just going outside. The newest sure-fire way to put him to sleep is to stick him in the Moby Wrap and take a walk. (I would recommend it to anyone! Thanks, Kim!)

This crying can happen at any time but can last a long time some days. My question is not, why is he crying (I know there is a laundry list of reasons why...believe me, I've been through them time and time again...and I'm beginning to realize that "colic" is just doctor's shortened word for "we don't know why your baby is crying, but it's not going to hurt him"). My question is how much is normal? And does it get better?

Thoughts?

The REAL Professional Photo Shoot

Our good friend and exceedingly talented photographer Robin Oatts agreed to snap a few pictures of Will. And, even though he decided to take a leak on their studio floor, he was overall a great subject!!! And he's just the cutest thing on the planet, so that helps! I'm not biased at all. (Side note, we're showing Robin's photography in Paul Robinett's Gallery this month! Stop by and check it out!)


Will makes some of the best faces...he has all these little Muppet expressions that just make us laugh every day!

The look on his face in this picture is just PRICELESS, because even though he does it all the time and it just CRACKS us up, we hadn't been able to get it on film yet!

This one shows off his really long legs, and is a common position for him...he likes being all curled up, but there's only so many limbs he can keep underneath his little body!


Will has these big amazing eyes, still bright blue, and he always seems like he's just trying to figure everything out.