Put Up The Gates

Well, as of July 8th or 9th, Kiefer joined the rank and file in the crawling world. Before, he was kind of inch-worming himself around. Scout, who did a break-dancing twist and roll until Charlie showed her how to crawl correctly, now shoots out like a sassy, hip-wiggling bullet to whatever attracts her attention. And Charlie--well, Charlie loves to climb. When he crawls, it's always like he's crossing a battlefield--slow, deliberate, dramatic (--good for teaching, I guess). But when he gets to his objective, it's climbing time, which is sometimes followed by a pretty good digger and then more drama. But just a month or so ago, things looked a bit different. Take a look:

Man, it has been fun. Watching them develop. They are all determined, and all successful, but success and the route to it are different in each case. I can't wait until they can walk, an adventure on which Scout is already embarking--that is, when she isn't completely focused on talking. I'm telling you, she is garrulous, and ridiculously cute. Often, Suzy and I will go in after a nap and find her either kneeling or standing in the direction of her brothers, holding the railings of the crib and just gabbing away. Bla bla bla... She even once was sitting with her two little legs swinging back and forth out of the crib, and just talking to no one in particular. She seemed frustrated that we interrupted her too.

I can't tell you how much fun Suzy and I are having. Summer has been great. Coincidentally, the babes' nap schedule corresponded perfectly with the World Cup games. I saw more of this World Cup, would you believe it, than I had seen of any other, and that was a great joy for me. The World Cup, actually, is the main reason I have not totally followed through on all my projects this summer, but that was a happy choice to make. We have had some great visits too, Sally and her son David, most recently, and for two nights, two days, we even hosted TL and Steve all the way from Alberta.

Oh, and Sara and Mike's son Abel was born (well done, people), and so was Annika, my friend and colleague's first, and, yea, Andrew Kanagy's Ivan Timothy has made his big entrance (--Andrew and his wife Heidi are the main reason Suzy and I have triplets, if you didn't know it). Welcome to parenthood, my dear friends--it is amazing, fun and endlessly fulfilling...

And, of course, 'tis the season for getting hitched. Just went to Galas's wedding and spent some quality time with the Swanzy--our kids' unofficial official Alaskan pediatric dentist. And we still have three more great weddings to go to yet: yea, Chris and Sarah; yea, Alan and Allie; and yea, my main man Chuck and the wonderful Sharyl. Thanks to the Marvelous One, Suzy's mother Martha, we plan to come and have a once-in-a-lifetime kind of celebration with each of you.

But the biggest event this summer, in terms of distance and trickiness, was Suzy's cousin Maureen's wedding in Omaha. Suzy has a lot of family in the big RED state, and I don't think she has missed a wedding--not one. In addition to the wedding, we stayed with Suzy's dad, whose hospitality and generousness remains unequaled, and we spent time with all the Kiefers, including Tim's family and even Katy's family (--all the way in from Japan, in fact--every moment with them is a special and rare event). Well, the trips were like a traveling road show. Everyone wanted to see the little people, even Sharon's daughter Mallory did, and Charlie, Kiefer and Scout did so well--stayed right on schedule, slept well, ate well, and were generally pleasant as can be. The drive was the toughest part, and all five of us were certainly tired the day or two after our return, but the routine was easy to refortify, and the the trip was well worth the warming and loving embrace of Suzy's Omaha family and friends. Thank you, all.

As for the blog, it's still going strong--in my head, if not always in front of your eyes. I thank you for your patience and your prayers, and your wishes, and your love--and your encouragement. Yes, many of you have said the nicest things about the blog. The only encouragement I'll ever need is right now systematically testing the kitchen and hallway gates for weaknesses--yea, like the velociraptors in that terrible movie, but your encouragement helps a lot. And to those of you just now coming down this wonderful path of family and life, well, yours is the best encouragement of all...

With much love,

Joe And Suzy