Bridging the Gap

I consider myself fortunate as a 30-something, ahem, young adult to still have one living grandparent. At 79 (and a 1/2), my mother's mother is still sassy as ever.  She took the bus down from Indiana and spent 4 days cuddling her great-grand-kids and giving us an ear-full of all her wonderful stories.

I didn't grow up living close to my grandparents, so we'd see them maybe once a year. But my kids are a lucky part of the Skype generation and have a firm relationship with their "Gigi" grounded in computer conversations. Although grandma isn't exactly tech-savvy, she occasionally has success firing up the skype that her neighbor helped install on her laptop to check in on her only great-grand-kiddos.

Yes, Lear had to change outfits... don't ask. ;) But, Hallelujah for a photo of everyone smiling and looking mostly in the direction of my lens!

One of the things I treasure most is photos. My grandma has stacks of old (and some very old) photographs of our distant, now deceased family members in her basement. There's something very special about looking back in your lineage and trying to find just where that crooked smile or button nose comes from. Or snickering at the fact that you totally would've had a crush on your great-great-grandpa, who was quite the looker as a younger man! Everyone knows that your DNA is half dad and half mom, yes. But in reality, its awe-inspiring to marvel at how you're actually the sum total of hundreds of relatives before you.

So, every time I have the privilege of spending time with my grandma, I try and get a few good shots of our 4 generations of mother/daughters. Not too shabby for self timer and a little photoshopping. Maybe someday Avery will treasure them too.

 

Summer Photo Dump

Yipes. It's been a whole month since I wore my blogger hat! We've done so much in the past 30 days that I'm gonna let pictures do the talking. Prepare for photo overload!!!

I love our SD neighborhood. Especially in the peace of a full moon night.

A beachside bonfire with best friends.

Uncle Spencer stopped in to meet his nephew!

Lear began eating cereal and baby food this month. Avery loves helping out (excuse the nap-hair!).

Little boy doesn't miss a meal. Can you tell?

Fourth of July means festivities at my parents place in Columbus, Ohio.

10-hours in a car...

... to see Daddy, yay!!!

An afternoon at the Virginia Children's Museum, trying to avoid the record heat wave!

 So nice to be a family again for a few days.

10 hour drive back to Ohio. Lear went for his first swim and loves the water! 

With a diver daddy and a sailor mommy, this kid really has no choice. ;)

Quality time with Opa.

With floor to ceiling windows across the entire north wall of my parent's condo, their home has some of the most phenomenal natural lighting for photos.

So I took advantage and did a little impromptu photo session of Lear. 

He looks so good in green, just like his Daddy.

No summer in the mid-west would be complete without a cornhole tournament at the midtown park.

Avery takes tossin' beanbags very seriously.

Phew! Tired of McNeil family photos yet?! Well, you're in luck, cause that's all I've got for now. Go and rest your eyeballs before we have too much more summer fun that requires a plethora of new posts!

Half Birthday

Avery's Antics 3.5

"Avery... why did you rip up all this toilet paper?!"
"I was feeding the duckies!"

"How do you say 'adios' in spanish?"

"If you don't get me a snack, I'm gonna go into beast-mode!!!"

"What does Daddy do at work?"
"He protects our country."
"Why?"
"Well, America is like a castle. And Daddy is like a knight. He protects the castle from any bad guys that want to come in."
Thinks for a minute...
"So does he go where the bad guys are and have a gun and a sword and a stick to poke them in the eye?!"
"Um, yeah. Something like that." 

I told Avery to give me a sassy pose and this is what I got... Lord help us!

365 Days Ago

What a difference a year makes!

Exactly one year ago today, June 3rd, 2011 I was 10 weeks pregnant with Lear and had this 3D ultrasound done. We didn't know his gender or the color of his eyes, but this amazing little peek at our baby boy was forever captured on film. A profile view, with one foot crossed over the other and his eye, ear and jawline clearly visible, this was the first time we saw our son. It's astounding the amount of detail and human form he already possessed at barely 1-inch long - his beating heart no bigger than the asterisk* on your keyboard. What an astonishing miracle it is that technology can provide a small glimpse into that "secret place" where God knits us together (Psalm 119:13-16).     

  

Fast forward 365 days (366 since it's a leap year?!) and Lear will be 5 months old tomorrow! He certainly still resembles his ultrasound photo in the large head department. Yowzas. Sorry kid, I think you inherited your momma's fivehead (bigger than a forehead... get it?). This isn't an official doctor visit month, but on our bathroom scale he's coming in around 18 lbs, aka: too dang heavy to be hauling around in that baby carseat! You may have noticed in the photo that he's free-style sittin' alone these days. Not entirely un-wobbly, but can hold his own upright for a stretch of 10-15 minutes at a time. He's wearing 6-9 month clothing and hasn't started any solid foods yet. Mostly because I'm too lazy to start! 

No teeth yet, but he does have a little hair, I promise. It's just so light and thin that it doesn't show up in photos. Opa asked if he has eyebrows, but I think the jury's still out on that one. He's a chill dude while awake, which is his saving grace, since he doesn't sleep worth a darn. 5 months in and this Momma's still waiting for more than 4 hours of consecutive sleep... ugh. He has more than a few nicknames including Learbug, Chunka-saurus, and Shucky-boo (what Avery calls him... don't ask). 

Five months have gone much faster with babe numero dos! We love you Chunk!

Running on a Bridge

Ok. Let's just be honest here - I don't run. Do not be misled by my post title to think I am some kind of an athlete or something. In fact, the closest thing I've ever done to a "real race" was saying "On your mark, Get set, GO!..." and then letting Avery beat me to the mailbox.

BUT, knowing that our time here in San Diego may be limited, I've decided to try and live fully in this wonderful city we call home. That includes signing up for my very first REAL race. The Coronado Bridge Run is the only annual chance you have to cross the Coronado Bridge on foot, as the bridge is typically closed to non-suicidal pedestrians. I tried to convince some friends to do it with me, but alas, they slacked and it sold out before they registered. Already I knew this would be interesting trying to do such a race with 2 kids on my own...

The day got off to a panicky start when my alarm did not go off as planned and I woke up an hour later than intended! Good thing I had intended to wake up at 4:45a. Concerned about the parking situation with 10,000 fellow participants vying for a spot, I mad-dashed us all out of the house in 20 min. I must be "clean livin'" because the parking angels saved us a spot right up front at the finish line. Hallelujah!

With Lear in the front pack, Avery walking alongside, and the double stroller packed we boarded the bus to take us from Coronado back over the bay to the starting line at the San Diego Convention Center. After feeding Lear and asking Avery multiple times if she needed to pee, we were all set. Literally, as the air horn blares for the race to begin, Avery looks up and says, "Mommy, I lied to you. I have to got potty really bad." Seriously?!

After 15 min locating and utilizing the port-a-potties, we are now joining the race at the back of this massive crowd. As previously stated - not a runner... but I really did want to jog/power walk to try and get a decent time (decent for me anyways).

Check out all those people!!!

We get on the bridge and the views are awesome. Both over the edge and of my cutie-patooties in the front. I won't lie - pushing 50lbs of kids and 34lbs of stroller up that incline was no joke.

 I'm still attempting to jog/power walk through the crowds and we're about 1/4 up the bridge when it happens. Avery barfs. Yup. All over her jeans and hands and the front of the stroller. For posterity (and proof) I took a picture, but will spare you the photographic details. She's had a wicked cough the last couple days and I think she just got coughing so hard that she gagged. Suffice to say that I had to stop and wet-wipe that whole mess down the best I could.

By now we are in the waaaaay back. How you can tell you're in the waaaaay back? Well, we are now walking next to a blind lady with her guide dog and a dude in a wheelchair with no legs and one arm. THAT IS NOT A LIE. I would have taken pictures of them, but figured that'd be a tad rude. Although I guess the blind lady wouldn't have noticed...

Oh yeah, and the trolley that's supposed to be bringing up the rear - passes you. :(

At this point I give up all dreams of attaining a "decent time" and decide to take pictures instead...

Avery decides to walk for a bit too.

And, heck, while we're in the VERY back, might as well see how many photos we can get together by asking perfect strangers to snap us.

1- At the top, 273 ft above the water.

2- Notice the empty bridge?!  ;)

3-

4 -

5 - The most important one! Finish Line with two cranky, hungry kids. Does that timer clock say 1 hour 58 min? Yes it does. But let's shave off about 25 minutes for the whole pee/puke situations. A solid 1.5 hours to go 4 miles. Hey, we had a blast and I still don't claim to be a runner. ;)

Avery's Antics 3.4

"Let's watch Beauty and the Beef."

Me to Lear: "Are you gonna be happy if I sit you on my lap or do I need to put you in your swing?"
Avery: "Mom, why are you giving him options?"

Working in the backyard, I leave Avery to watch Lear in his bouncer seat to run inside for something. Return a minute later to him and Avery holding STICKS (!)
"Avery!!! Lear cannot have sticks yet. He's too little and will poke his face."
"But MOoOOooM, we're roasting marshmallows!!!!"

"Why are Daddies bigger than Mommies?"
"Usually adult boys are just taller than adult girls."
"I know why Daddies are taller. It's so that when I ride on his shoulders I can touch the sky."

"Those yum-yums (dessert) were so good tonight. They have lots of protein, don't they."

Talking to Matt via Skype, he says to Avery: "I can see a booger in your nose!"
"Oh, that's 'cause it's falling out. I'll push it back up there." 
And, indeed, pushes it back in. Ha!  

Wearing her princess outfit and holding her play phone:
"Who are you talking to?"
"I'm texting my prince."

Avery earns a quarter every night that she picks up all her toys. At the store the other day with "her money," trying to decide what to buy, she stopped at a rack of un-inflated foil balloons.
"Mom, I want to buy one of these."
"Ok. We will have to take it to the counter to get it inflated."
"No, I don't want a regular balloon. I want a tooting balloon!"
Yes. My daughter was sorely disappointed to learn she wasn't buying a whoopie-cushion!

"Lear is Nemo today!"

 

Bonus Feature - Husband Humor:
Me: "Lear really is such a happy baby. Unless he's hungry or tired, he's smiling all the time."
Matt:"Well, yeah. He's a dude. If I were suckin' on boobies 5 times a day, I'd be smiling like that too!"