Summer of Surprises

Forgive me for not posting any new and exciting details about our day-to-day life recently, but that's because there's been nothing day-to-day about it. The summer of 2008 has been a summer of surprises! Here's the sum up:

(June 28-July 5) My parents flew up from Atlanta to spend some time playing around Washington, DC with us. They were amazed by how much Christopher had grown and how well he could speak. He was already repeating the alphabet when prompted and slowly learning his letters. Unfortunately, he was also prone to squealing loudly when he didn't get his way. Aaron planned a surprise birthday party for me, which turned out to be far more festive than anything I could have imagined. And it was good to have my parents there. We visited the US Printing & Engraving Office, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, the Battle of Bull Run Historical site, and Mt. Vernon. Every day was exhausting in its own way. We also met with Judge Richard Leon, the Federal District Judge with whom Aaron worked, spending over an hour with him in his chambers, learning a great deal and truly appreciating his generous spirit. We visited Old Town Alexandria and Gadsby's Tavern on the Fourth of July, and I was glad to be the tour guide one last time for my parents. One last time? Well, that's because we learned on July 3rd, just as we were all getting ready to go to the DC Temple, that Aaron had been accepted to the University of Virginia Law School in Charlottesville. We would be moving. We went to the temple that night with options to pray about. And in the end, it just felt right.

(July 12) We drove to Charlottesville, Virginia, with no air conditioning on a scathingly hot day. We had one afternoon to try to figure out if there was a house, townhome, or apartment that best suited us. Sweet Christopher was a good sport as he sweated in his carseat between each stop. It was the first time our little guy ever drank honest-to-goodness water, he was so hot! He ran through empty, echoing apartments and houses, climbed stairs and explored yards while I examined storage space and Aaron mapped the distances to the law school. By the middle of the afternoon, the air conditioner decided to kick in and we were very grateful. But the weird part was--it wouldn't shut off! Even when we took the key out of the ignition, the fan kept blowing. And eventually, it killed the battery. We were stranded in a parking garage outside of the Downtown Mall at the old historic district. A classic Southern gentleman and his genteel wife helped jumpstart our car and they led us to the local Sear's auto center, closing in half an hour. That gave them just enough time to replace our battery and check our alternator. We managed to get home that night, but it cost us $800 in car repairs later. The one townhouse that we almost didn't see because I thought the owner had already leased it, was the one that we eventually signed on. Thank heavens the owner's brother called me to ask why we had stood him up! And thank heavens his fiancee was good enough to come back to show us the place while we were in the area! We're living in that very home now, and we love it.

(July 14-August 1) I scrambled to get our home packed room-by-room, necessity-by-necessity while still taking care of Christopher and juggling work responsibilities. Aaron was busy getting our vacation plans figured out, since our flight was supposed to return us on the day Aaron was scheduled for UVA's orientation. We needed to move before then.

(August 2-12) We flew to Utah. I think we could have walked to Utah faster than we flew to Utah. No, actually, I shouldn't complain because in the end it all worked out. We were waiting at the Dulles International Airport from 9am-5pm, trying to find ways to fly around the storms that were causing so many delays and cancelations. Eventually, we boarded a plane to Long Beach and Christopher, bless his soul, fell asleep after the first two hours and stayed asleep for the next three hours on the plane, two hours in the Long Beach airport, and two hours on the flight to Salt Lake that had, fortuitously, been delayed six hours, just so we could make the connection! We got in around 1am (which was 3am EST), and we visited with family for a couple more hours before finally falling asleep. The next day we spent with Joseph, Rosie, and their boys before they had to return to Hong Kong. Most of our vacation was visiting with friends and family, relaxing at the Pacini home, and enjoying their little cabin up in Heber. We enjoyed a date to the Salt Lake Temple, and we were treated a fabulous dinner at The Roof Restuarant. We spent a good afternoon with Grandpa Metcalfe and Sonja. And we discovered that when Parley's Canyon is closed, the roundtrip from Heber to Salt Lake nearly triples in drive-time. Aaron caught two fish while fly-fishing with his father on the Provo River. And I manipulated a lovely little surprise birthday party for Aaron on the night before we flew home: Ashley and Britney assisted in the scheme to get him to the movie theater an hour before our supposed movie started. While waiting we went to the Skybox Arcade Center where, much to Aaron's surprise, was gathered his whole family and several high school and college friends. We let the boys be boys, and it was fun.

(August 13-16) The Big Move. Aaron and I were swamped with boxes, messes, and madness as soon as we returned from Utah. Poor Christopher didn't know why his home was being torn inside out, but I was constantly stealing him away on one errand or another. The only relief we enjoyed was on Thursday, the "game day girls" planned a lovely lunch at one of the gourmet restaurants in downtown DC. It was "Restaurant Week," so the amazing meals we enjoyed were half-price. And we all got to escape our kids for the afternoon! Our adventuresome group included Janelle Patton, Sariah Lundsford, Heather Craw, and Lisa Busby. We were forced to change our reservation at the last minute because we learned upon arriving in DC that the FBI had closed off the block where our original restaurant was located. Four mysterious packages... that ended up being nothing... but they sure led to drama at the time! And on the night before we moved, Heather and Kent hosted a little Chinese take-out dinner, just we wouldn't have to bother with food and so we could spent one last evening playing with our friends. What a blessing! And what a great way to say goodbye...although everyone refused to actually say goodbye. On Aaron's 29th birthday, we moved to Charlottesville. My parents were good enough to drive up from Atlanta to help us with the laborious process of getting settled. Although they were only here for the weekend, they treated us to Aaron's birthday dinner and provided us with the much-needed support in arranging furniture, unpacking boxes, and organizing our scattered life. Unfortunately, I fear I was a little beastly when it came to bossing everyone around, but I really am grateful for all their help. Christopher weathered the chaos by watching movies on his mini-DVD player while strapped in his highchair...for hours. I still feel a little guilty for that. But let's be honest: It kept him out of the way and thoroughly entertained. I think he loved it.

(August 16-Present) We're here: lovely, green, quaint, cute Charlottesville, Virginia. We've met a few families in our ward. We've visited a few parks in the area. Aaron's interviewed with dozens of law firms through UVA. And we're starting to settle into a routine. In a place like this, I'm bound to take pictures. And yes, I'll try to post them soon.

So that, my friends, has been our Summer of Surprises. I'm hoping there aren't any more for at least a little while!

Chit Chat

One of our favorite regular activities with Christopher is teaching him how to talk. He's gotten good at repeating our words if we begin with, "Say..." But because his enunciation still isn't perfected, we enjoy listening to him attempt to say whatever we ask him to try. When he wants the movie "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," he calls for, "Bain! Bain!" Of course, Aaron tries to get him to say, "Chitty Chitty," exploiting Topher's oblivious to naughty words. When he wants to hear his Thomas the Tank Engine songs, he begs, "Trai! Trai!" He's getting better at the "pl" sound in, "Please!" Christopher also calls, "Poo!" or "Far!" if he hears someone pass gas. He overheard a tv character chant, "Fusspot, fusspot!" And when Christopher tried to imitate him, what came out sounded more like, "fuh..." than "fuss." The other word he's had to practice recently has been, "Sorry," which usually comes out as, "Sorh." But more often than not, whenever I ask him to repeat something to practice his words, it sounds close enough to distinguish. And his sweet little voice makes the word a wonderful new discovery for both us.

Trees, Turtles, & Tumbles

Christopher has been a busy boy discarding his usual schedule. I have the fear that the wonderful days of two long naps are slipping away. On Wednesday, we made plans to meet Sariah with Ben, Janelle with Elliott, Heather with Gwynne, and Lisa with Lincoln and Sawyer at the local farmer's market. Christopher has gotten much better at holding hands, but when he gets anxious to run, he does. And he thinks it's a riotous game to flee from grown ups. And at one point, as I was playfully chasing after him, he fell on his knees when he hit the grassy edge of the woods. We all laughed. So for the next half hour, any freedom Topher found he ran towards the same grassy spot and fell immediately, recreating his former tumble and reveling in the moment. Such a clown!

We bought some apples and raspberries and rolls, intending to eat them for lunch at the Vienna Botanical Gardens. Christopher, however, seemed intent on eating every raspberry at the farmer's market and he started getting a little red spotted rash around his eyes soon afterwards. It didn't seem to bother him much, so I simply took note of it. And while at the Gardens, Christopher seemed more intent on feeding the turtles and geese with his food than himself. The weather proved ideal for a long stroll through the gardens, sunny but mild, especially for June. And the flowers were dancing all over the green hillsides. Christopher begged to be let free from his stroller, and as soon as his feet his the ground, he was off, stumbling down the long slope towards the catfish-filled pond. I hurried after him and kept one hand on his shoulder as he half-signed and half-said "water," over and over again. I was glad to see that he seemed to understand that he couldn't jump into the water, but the temptation was obvious. Topher seemed to enjoy just as much delight in the sunshine as he had to endure the despair of my constant shadow. The silly kid simply couldn't run away far enough fast enough, for I was always right behind him, tugging on his pants or wrestling him to the grass when he wanted to tromp in the lush flowerbeds or explore the stone drain tunnels.

We stopped again at a gazebo at the end of a platform that reached into the pond and hovered high over the water. There Christopher discovered geese and turtles and fish all fighting for food together. He spent an hour hurrying back and forth between me and the railing, snatching scraps of bread from me for the eager animals below. The other moms calmly sat under the gazebo, feeding their children content to stay near them. Mine, however, kept me jolting all over the place. We left the gazebo for a winding walk up a high grassy hill. I let Topher escape the stroller to follow after Ben and Lincoln, for whom he was calling enthusiastically. However, the steepness of the hill surprised him, and soon Christopher was tumbling awkwardly down the hill, tripping and falling and occasionally slamming into the ground. I chased after him and tried to keep him from rolling again, but that only frustrated the poor boy so much that our adventure on the hilltop ended rather quickly. We continued our stroll with the others into a wooded area where Christopher wanted to hide among the trees and bushes. When we stopped for a minute, he hurried off to the edge of the woods where we found a beautiful yellow and brown tortoise. Ben was quick to take the turtle from us, but because Christopher seemed a little nervous about the walking rock, I didn't mind Ben enjoy the tortoise in his place. Ben tried to share the tortoise with Topher, but my little guy kept turning away from it. So soon after, I strapped him back into his stroller and took him (and his many grass-stains) home for the day.

Father's Day

Aaron has always insisted that he doesn't enjoy surprises, but I think he liked them this Father's Day. Three days before, I planted a "clue" pertaining to his upcoming Father's Day gift in his lunch. It was a card listing his competition: Chris Patton, Steve Lundsford, Kent Kemeny, Kelly Busby, Neil Sood, John Gardner, Jason Bassett, and Bryson Giles. After a series of questions, Aaron eventually guessed that they would be going go-kart racing! Mario Kart action for the big boys! And all the wives and kids stood in the wings to cheer them on.

So on Saturday, Neil and Lori Sood arrived with their pretty little daughter Annalisa. Neil was under the impression that they had come for a barbeque to celebrate Lori's and my birthdays. So he was doubly surprised when he learned about the go-kart reservations we'd made at a local track. So with very little time to eat our Rachel-Ray-inspired hamburgers, we tossed the kids in the cars and headed to Sterling, Virginia. Everyone had gathered at the indoor racetrack, little munchkins running around under their daddies' legs as the men zipped themselves into hot, thick, racing uniforms. After a ten-minute safety video, our husbands were off to the races!

Christopher did laps just like Aaron did--only while Aaron was whipping in twisted circles around the track driving a super-small convertible, Topher was running back and forth among the bleachers in his favorite "blue shoes." There was no slowing either one of them down. After a practice race of 20 laps, the men paused to compare speeds and scores and to rethink their strategies about how to take turns. And after the real race of 40 laps, they were all dripped with sweat from their hot suits and insulated helmets, but they were also pumped full of testosterone. Christopher had tried to steal into one of the go-karts, open one of the vending machines, and make one of the ashtrays into a sandbox. But besides all that, he was an especially fun little boy. He stood on the chair next to me and clapped for his daddy even though he couldn't see which of the men in black whizzing by was his daddy after all. In the end, the first place trophy went to Christ Patton, but that didn't matter much. Aaron had fun!

On Father's Day itself, Christopher presented Aaron with a card and a new XBox 360 game. It's a football game that Daddy can teach to his little boy who always begs him to "play." We invited Heather and Kent to join us for a night of Catan, a chance to use our new expansion. Christopher sat in front of a movie, eating tomatoes and pretzels and cheese while their little Gwynne fussed with fatigue. We were all a little distracted, but it still nice to visit together as couples. It finally grew so late and we had made so little progress that we had to end the game before it was really done. Still, it was a happy Father's Day and a super fun family weekend. And I hope Aaron felt how much we love him!

The Croup

After five days in the hospital, Christopher came home knowing full well that the croup is "crap!" (When Topher says it, he rolls his R's and it makes us laugh!) But there wasn't much to laugh about when late Thursday night we realized that Topher's sudden heavy wheezing was a serious indication that he simply couldn't breathe. Aaron had taken Christopher hometeaching because he hadn't seen him in several days and he wanted to spend some time with him. Although they came home long past Topher's bedtime, he still seemed to be in good spirits -- but he was breathing hard. And when we tried to give him a bedtime snack, he choked so severely that it induced vomit. His throat was swelling shut.

I thought it was an allergic reaction because the breathing problems struck suddenly during dinner, accompanied by a little rash on his arm. So at Urgent Care, the nurses started treating him for an allergic reaction with shots and IV's and an oxygen mask. Oh, the poor kid was miserable! He curled up in our arms, bawling in his raspy way, coughing like a barking seal, and pleading with what little voice he had, "Help!" The mask terrified him, so we had to administer the medicine by a tube in front of his nose instead. And after a CAT scan and an X-ray, our sweet little boy managed to fall asleep from sheer exhaustion while I curled up with him on the gurney. He was so terrified and so tired and so confused, and we felt so sorry for him. It was around 4am when the doctor determined Topher needed to go to the Fairfax County Hospital to be treated for a severe case of croup. Larry and Larry, the two EMT's, drove Christopher and me to the hospital via ambulance. That was Christopher's second ride in an ambulance in two months. What a special boy!

We got settled into a cramped shared room at the hospital on Friday morning, and after more poking and prodding for vital signs, Christopher was finally allowed to sleep. Aaron also tried napping, but that was futile because of the sobbing little boy in the bed next to us. So he eventually went home to get some real sleep. He had been up all night, whereas I had napped a little while lying next to Topher. I took the day shift with our little guy, feeding him small bits of food, taking him to the kid's activity room, and rocking him for hours when he woke coughing and vomiting again. His harsh breathing had subsided by Friday night, thanks to the steroids the nurses had administered, so they sent us home around 9pm. I was so grateful to see Christopher settled into his own bed for a good night's sleep! And I was also grateful for a shower!

But Saturday afternoon, Topher woke from his nap with fear on his face because he couldn't breathe again. He could barely gasp enough to cough the harsh, hacking sound we had learned to hate in the hospital. So we rushed to the emergency room and immediately, the nurse had him on a bed and was administering a mask full of medicine. He squirmed and cried and fought the mask as he had the day before, but soon he could breathe again. What little appetite he's had on Friday had disappeared by Saturday. We could hardly coax him into drinking apple juice and nibble on a graham cracker. By the time the hospital opened a private room for Christopher in the pediatric wing, I was desperate enough to have him eat that I bribed him with a bottle of chocolate milk. It was the only thing of substance he had all day.

Despite his lethargy from not breathing, not eating, and not sleeping, Christopher proved so patient during his next two days trapped in the hospital. Sadly, he became accustomed to the nurses taking his blood pressure, listening to his lungs, and applying wires to his chest. He liked playing with the monitor attached to his big toe, and we kept him entertained with all of his favorite movies: "Mary Poppins," "Annie," and "Joseph." By Monday morning, Christopher didn't even want to venture to the kid's activity room. He was only mildly interested in playing basketball at the outdoor court with Aaron. He trembled when I tried to prop him up to stand. And he curled up to sleep on my chest or under my arm without any attempt to escape and explore on his own. Mr. Mischief was so not himself. By Monday morning, Christopher had also stopped drinking. Even chocolate milk couldn't tempt him anymore. He had coughed so much and thrown up so much that he wasn't interested in taking anything into his belly anymore. And I became accustomed to calling for the nurse to bring a change of pajamas and sheets. Sunday night, he vomited all over me while I cuddled with him under the cool mist tent in the crib. I don't know what surprised the nurse more when she walked in: seeing me in the crib or seeing the puke all over the place. Aaron helped me clean Christopher up and calm him down again.

I was glad that by Monday, the doctors had decided to be more liberal with the medicine mask that help Christopher so much when he really started struggling. By the time Topher was comfortable with holding the mask to his own face, the respiratory technicians had administered the medicine several times in a just a few hours. But it seems to make a world of difference. The nurse brought in another steroid mashed up in some applesauce around lunchtime, and I feared that Christopher would thoroughly object to it as he had all other food. But when I explained to him that it was "help," he opened his mouth and let me feed him the two scoops of drugged applesauce. That was it. That was all he would take in. But within a couple of hours, I started to see our curious kid return. It was like magic.

Christopher started showing some interest in the way Jello could be mashed through his fingers. Then he wanted to play with his DVD player. Then he started pretending he could climb out of his crib. And by the time Aaron returned from a short sleep at home, Christopher was ready to conquer the world! The doctor didn't let us go home until nearly 10pm, and by then Topher was tired and irrational again. But after taking a tour of the cafeteria and watching us pack up our things, Christopher started getting terribly excited to go home. He kept begging for "home" using his sign language. So we were very relieved when the doctor finally agreed that we could go. As grateful that I was for the medical support when Topher couldn't breathe and when he would throw up from coughing so severely, I was eager to go home where we could all sleep without being interrupted by well-meaning stethescopes.

From what I understand, croup is a common childhood virus. It typically causes a nasty cough, but in some instances, it causes "stridor," the strained breathing that I've come to recognize so readily. It only affects young children under the age of 5, which means Christopher has three more vulnerable years ahead of him. How I pray we never have to deal with the croup again!

Memorial Weekend

Over Memorial Weekend, the last real break before Aaron's internet began, we enjoyed a great deal of family time. Aaron decided to join Heather, Janelle, Sariah, me, and all of our kids for a little game day on Thursday, confident enough to enter the wonderful world of estrogen. He was a great deal of help with Christopher who only calmed down one he had closed himself off in the basement's glass shower. Meredith also joined us, so it was was grand party with just as much chatter as true competition. And having a man there made it all the more entertaining. That night Janelle and Sariah watched a movie at our house while Topher slept so Aaron and I could go on an honest-to-goodness date. We watched "The Chronicles of Narnia" without once worrying about the baby disturbing the others in the audience, and I relaxed under the weight of Aaron's arm. He claims I fell asleep...which is still to be disputed.

Aaron and I both filled up our Friday with what we needed and wanted to do individually, so on Saturday we could work hard and play hard. Whenever Aaron joins Steve and Chris for a game of basketball at the Marquis court, Christopher and I venture over to watch for a few minutes. It's much easier now that Christopher will hold our hands as we walk, and as soon as he realizes where we're headed, he runs! He calls, "Ball! Ball!" while making the gesture with his hands, and he begs for help to go down the steep stairs. On Saturday, that was the routine, but we had to keep Topher to the edge of the court until the first game ended. Then he stormed the men's area, pleading with Aaron to lift him up so he could dunk the basketball. He received a big applause from all the men watching, and he covered his face as though he were suddenly shy. Such a silly kid! Later that day, after putting up curtains and cleaning out the bedroom closet and going grocery shopping, we three went on a walk through the woods to Nottoway Park. We let Topher out of the stroller to run through the long grassy field, never guessing that he would spot the outdoor basketball courts from so far away. But sure enough, he did, and those little legs went running after the chance to dunk the ball again. We followed him to the bottom of the hill at the edge of the courts where several games were going on. And we promptly told him to stop. He did. Christopher dropped to his knees and watched the games for a few minutes before slowly, sneakily, ever-so-carefully inching forward as though we couldn't see that he was walking on his knees until he was far enough from us to make a break for it. Mr. Mischief!

I would have cried on Sunday if I were not so relieved that Christopher finally graduated to Nursery! Sweet blazes, what a blessing! Aaron and I dropped him off at the nursery door together, placing him in his little seat with his snacks, and saying goodbye. He waved to us, comfortable but confused, and they closed the door as we turned away. But Aaron sneaked a few peaks during the course of Sunday School and Priesthood, pleased to see that Christopher had found a basketball hoop. Unlike some of the other kids who were in hysterics for their parents, our independent little guy was happily playing ball and oblivious to the fact that we were not there. On Sunday afternoon, Dave and Natalie Moore came over with their three boys, and we all had a picnic in the courtyard of Aaron's baked homemade ravioli with alfredo-pesto sauce. It was divine! And the boys relished in the warm sunshine, cool grass, and the chance to chase each other around. We loved swapping stories with Dave and Natalie, especially since Natalie and I kept learning that we share so many mutual friends from the past. In many ways, she reminds me of me, but in many more ways I wish I could be like her.

And on Monday, our last free day, we took advantage of the afternoon by heading to Clemyjontri Park just outside of Langley. It was the ideal day to introduce Aaron to the grand-daddy of all playgrounds, with its rubber ground and maze of swingsets and dozens of climbing contraptions. Christopher ran all around the jungle gyms, climbed several of the slides, balanced on the stepping stones, and rode the seesaw. Anything that had a steering wheel fascinated him for at least five minutes, and we soaked up the sun while following after him, watching him play. He ran after several pretty girls trying to get their attention, but alas, to no avail. There's a carosel in the center of Clemyjontri Park, and when Christopher finally noticed it, there was no turning back. We promised him one ride before we left, and oh, what joy that afforded! Our goal was to get our cute kid tired and it worked. We went from the park to the mall at Tysons where we had dinner and got settled to watch a movie. Unfortunately, "Indiana Jones" proved far too exciting to put Topher to sleep right away, despite his earlier signing that he wanted to go "home" and he was ready to "sleep." Still, he was quiet through the first 30 minutes, and when he started to get scared, he sat up and called for "Dadda." I passed Topher to Aaron who curled our cute kid against his shoulder and within minutes, Topher was asleep. Victory! Through the rest of the movie, I got to cuddle with Aaron, and in the end, it truly felt like a holiday weekend.

Busche Gardens

On the last two days of our family vacation (May 16-17), we went to Busche Gardens Europe to get our fill of roller coasters and 4-D movies. Because Chelsea loves roller coasters, she joined Aaron and me as we hurried around the huge theme park, looking for the shortest lines to the most exciting rides. Julie took Christopher in his stroller through all the exhibits representing each country, enjoying the sunshine, wildlife, and bustling atmosphere. We met up with them after thrilling our way through two or three roller coasters, eager to share the excitement with Christopher. So we found the kiddie park in "Germany," and we released him from his stroller to discover the carosel, flying dragons, ferris wheel, train, and boats.

Christopher was delighted by the up-and-down action of riding the horses on the carosel. He shrieked in glee every time he came full-circle and saw either Aaron or me. We rode the dragon and ferris wheel rides with him, but the novelty of height wasn't nearly as thrilling as riding in circles holding onto a pole or a wheel. It seemed that Topher's very favorite was the boat ride, because he sat by himself in the back seat of a little motor boat attached to a pole that guided the boats in circles around the small pond. He steered and flirted with the cute girls who always sat in front, and he hooted at Aaron and me whenever he'd pass us by. As soon as the boats would slow to a stop, Topher was quick to use his pudgy little hands to sign for "more." And of course, we let him do more and more to his heart's content.

Eventually, we left the rides to watch some short shows at different places in the park: A trained pet show that thoroughly entertained Topher with the music, the dogs, the cats, the birds, and the pig; an Irish dancing program that got our kid tapping his feet as soon as he hit the ground; and a 4-D pirate show that sprayed water in our faces. But really, we were relishing in the thrills of fast falls after long waits in line. I liked simply hanging out with Aaron, holding hands and sharing stories and worrying about nothing.

By the last day, our feet were sore and our arms were brown and our kid was the epitome of tired. His final thrill from the theme park was standing by a fence overlooking the Pompeii ride and watching the boats climb up the cement slope, disappear into the volcanoe, and come pouring out over the edge in a steep waterfall. Each boat made a gigantic splash, which is when Topher would throw his arms in the air and flail his legs and cry, "Splash!!!" Then, of course, he would ask for more.

When it comes to adventure, we always want more!