Catch up time ... again!

Sorry again for the multiple week delay in posting something to the blog. It's been a very busy time the past few weeks.

Here are the highlights:

• One of us got older
• We enjoyed the final days of summer
• We sat in a bunch of fire trucks
• We played in the water
• Someone began a new job

And Dad went to a conference, coming home just in time for shows to begin at his theater, which means our schedules have changed even more.

Happy birthday, Amy!

Amy turned 33 on September 12. Both sets of grandparents drove into town, joining us and Auntie Pam, who lives just down the way, for a day of celebration. I actually had to join the party late as the 12th was also the day I flew home from the Arts Midwest conference in St. Paul.

But it was a fun birthday nonetheless. It was filled with cake ...

presents ...

and party favors ...

... especially for the two grandpas, who Maya delighted in bringing every acorn in a centerpiece candle bowl Amy got as a gift. There must have been 50 of the little things, and Maya went back and forth to the bowl, delivering one at a time until each grandpa's hand was filled to overflowing.

Maya has been using many more words lately. She is an expert at "Owen," "Daddy," and "Mommy," and has taken great interest in our well-being. Now when she wakes up, one of the first things she does is ask about whoever isn't in the room at that moment, wondering what they're doing and making sure everything is OK.

Open House

The Normal Fire Department held an open house the following weekend, on Sept. 19. Regular visitors to the station, I headed up with Owen and Maya thinking we'd probably seen everything already ... but we hadn't even scratched the surface.

It was a marvelous day! Owen got to spray a fire hose ...

... and sit in every engine the city owns, as they trucked all of their other trucks in for the day.

The highlight for Owen, though, was taking a long, close look at his beloved Snorkel 10.

10 is the oldest truck in the fleet, but is definitely Owen's favorite. It's nearly 30 years old and will likely be decommissioned soon. Every time we visit, we tell the firemen that Owen will gladly take it off their hands and are told to "Make an offer," as no reasonable offer to drive the truck away would probably be refused.

I'm all for it. Put 10 in the back yard and there we'll not only be the most popular house on the street for the kids, but I'll have considerably less mowing to do ...

Here are a couple more pictures from the day. You can see Owen was in heaven!

Bye, bye, summer!

The weather in the final days of summer actually felt like summer, a surprise in our unseasonably cool year. Owen and Maya both got sick at the end of the month, leading to a trip to the ER for Owen as his seasonal bout with croup returned, and several days off school for both.

Fortunately, everyone's energy returned for the weekend and we were all ready to get out and enjoy the spectacular weather.

We returned to a favorite play area, Tipton Park, a great area with a spray park and lots of playground equipment. I think this was Maya's first trip to the spray park and she had a great time. We walked through little fountains taller than she was and she laughed every time, quickly turning around and grabbing my hand again so that we could go back through.

We stayed and played for quite a while ...

Then returned home in time to watch Iowa go 3-0 with a win over Arizona. Indeed, fall has arrived!

Lastly, Amy began a new job on the 14th. She is now a social worker for Passages Hospice, and so far she seems to be enjoying it very much. She will be providing social work care to hospice patients throughout the region, but primarily in the Peoria area. The company has taken great care to make sure she has all of the tools she needs to do her job well, and Amy is delighted that she can finally focus on the patients instead of the profits.

She has been quite busy learning all she needs to to do the job well, but I have already noticed a change in reduced tension and increased happiness.

Labor Day Weekend

With everything that's been going on this summer, we haven't really had much chance for a vacation of any sort. The three-day Labor Day weekend gave us a good chance to get out a little and do a few activities for our very nice kids.


Before we get into the holiday weekend rundown, here's a picture of Owen imitating an ad he saw in his mom's magazine. She was looking through it when he was having a snack. After showing him the picture, he was quickly up out of his chair and rummaging through the cabinet.


It's nice when you don't have to stage these things.

Day 1: Saturday -- Tanners Orchard

We drove up to Tanners Orchard on Saturday. A family favorite destination, Tanners has all sorts of fun activities for kids, terrific fresh apples and baked goods, and is always a good time.

Owen rode a pony (Maya would have nothing to do with them), we played on the hay bales, admired the flowers, and panned for precious stones.

The best part of the day, though, was the tractor ride. The kids got into their cider barrel cars and were pulled through the orchard. Maya and Owen rode together. Owen proudly steered his car the same directions the driver took. Meanwhile, Maya waved and waved at anyone who would look her way. (They're in the last populated car of the train.)

Day 2: Sunday - Nana and Grandpas

Then it was off to Nana and Grandpas. Nana begins her chemo and radiation treatments, so it was nice to squeeze in an extra visit. We had a wonderful time playing in the park and around the house, reading books and cheering the Hawkeyes narrow season-opening victory.

We then drove home and had a final trip to the pool for the summer. It was a great way to end the year. Owen met a very nice little girl named Kaleen who was seven and quickly took it upon herself to give him a swimming lesson. He's always been a bit timid around water, but with her guidance he was paddling back and forth across the pool, going wherever she would lead him.

Maya and I, meanwhile, played around and splashed like crazy. So far she seems very easy in the water. She planted her face right in several times trying to see what was on the other side of the surface.

Day 3: Monday - Monticello Railway Museum

Like many boys, Owen loves trains. Looking around for things to do in the area, we found this train museum about an hour's drive from home. The museum has many vintage trains, with cars set up so that you can walk through and see what things were like. It also has a working diesel engine with two passenger cars and a caboose that you can ride on from the museum site to downtown Monticello and back again.

We rode in the caboose on the way into town. Sitting up top where we could look out the windows over the top of the car, we had a great view and a fun ride.

Once in Monticello, we had lunch and played in a wonderful city park while we waited for the train to make its run to the museum and back. It was a wonderful summer-like day and we all had lots of fun.

The kids were both exhausted afterward. Maya (who managed not to nap on the drive back to Normal) laid down on a seat on our train trip back. Owen (who napped like crazy on the drive home) looked out the window and soaked it all in.

There was even a yellow train to look at when we got back. This was very good, because when you ask Owen what kind of train is his favorite, he always answers "Yellow ones."

Elevation

We love our little monkey.

This is actually a fairly simple story to tell. Owen just started climbing the basketball hoop one day. He goes up and down it several times a night ... much to the delight of the neighbor kids, who can't seem to master the trick.

He'll just hang up there, slide down, climb back up.

The view is apparently pretty good. He'll tell you about the spider webs behind the backboard, and about the bird poop on the roof of your car.

Fortunately, it's a trick that requires bare feet ... Which is good, because as the weather is getting cooler it means Owen's grandmas shouldn't have to worry about this much longer.

FABULOUS!

Maya had her first haircut last weekend. No "Bend-and-Snap" moments, but it was a definite day of beauty for our little sweetheart.

The look took a bit getting used to for her mom and dad, but we ended up loving the cut as her hair had been covering her eyebrows before, and with them visible her face took on a whole new dimension of expressiveness.

... although it's a bit hard to see here. She was VERY tired!

And watching the Teletubbies (see above).

Honestly, Mr. Fallwell, Tinkie-Winkie is the least of this show's problems ...

Shifting gears, albeit slightly, I have to confess my disappointment in my wife a week ago. She drives the kids to school, but we usually talk once or twice a day, as was the case a week ago Thursday. That was the day I went to school and as I was picking up Maya her teacher told me: "She kept her stocking on all day."

Indeed, Maya was wearing some hosiery the other day. Amy was putting on her stockings for work and Maya thought they were pretty neat. So she ended up with one of them on ... all day ... and through two conversations this somehow never warranted any notification.

To Amy, I would like to tell you this story. When I was in high school and Daniel was off to college, a kid in my school who we both knew and told lots of stories about, because he was that kind of kid, came to school one day with a perm. Less than a month later Daniel came home for the holiday and ran into this young man and his head of tight curls in the mall. As memory serves, Daniel came home and slugged me (with affection), but promising me I'd be in big trouble if I left him to discover something like that on his own ever again.

I mean, I could have stopped to pick the camera up on the way to school ...

Birthday weekend!

Happy birthday, Auntie Pam!

The Ives family's hot streak of summer/early autumn birthdays rolls on this week with Auntie Pam's 27th birthday today. Grampie and Grammie came in from Iowa City to join the party (remember, it was Grammie's birthday just six days ago). Highlights included lots of time to visit and play, two trips to the fire station, where we saw the brand new ambulance (just three days old and fresh with that new ambulance smell), and a special birthday dinner out last night.

We went to a local Italian place which has a gluten free menu, so Owen had a great time.

Maya, meanwhile, finished eating early and then provided the entertainment by playing peek-a-boo with her grampie.

The new ambulance at the fire station was very inspiring to Owen. He decided he wanted some flashing lights for his bicycle, so we outfitted the handlebar with a flashing bike tail light he can turn on and off.

While it was unseasonably cool this weekend, each bike ride was followed by a cool down period featuring Popsicles.

(A shout out to Nana and Grandpa here. Doesn't the above picture remind you of the picture of Daniel with his ice cream cone out in California when he was a little boy?)

Today was a little more about work. I got Maya down for a nap around 12:30. When I walked out of the room, Amy and Owen were going into his room with a stack of books and the hopes Owen would have an afternoon snooze. I hadn't finished lunch, so I went downstairs. About 10 minutes later I heard some footsteps going across Owen's floor. I peeked upstairs, hoping to catch Amy as she left the room, but what I saw was Owen sneaking out the door and closing it behind him, so as not to awaken his sleeping mother.

Affirming he was not tired, I asked him if he wanted to A) go to the pool or B) paint the fence. He chose the latter. So Owen and I went outside and got a lot of work done. It was a wonderful afternoon. Two hours of talking and painting on a perfect end-of-summer day.


The ladies got into the action when they got up. While I kept painting, Amy had Owen and Maya help her in the garden. Maya threw herself into the work, climbing into the potato barrel.



And one final first. We grilled hamburgers for dinner tonight and threw in a special treat, a fresh gluten free hamburger bun for Owen. Believe it or not, this is the first time he's ever eaten a hamburger as a sandwich.


Pretty cool. And very tasty ...

For the love of grandmas

First off, happy birthday, Grammie Ives! I hope yesterday was a wonderful day. We're looking forward to celebrating your birthday with you this weekend.

The past few weeks have provided a good reminder of how important family is. Whether you're celebrating long-awaited news or coming together to rally behind someone who needs your help, or both, we're lucky to be surrounded by people who love and appreciate each other, their needs, and their gifts.

As many of you know, August has been full of challenges as Owen and Maya's Nana Aalberts was diagnosed with a brain tumor three weeks ago. On August 7 she had surgery to have the tumor removed from the speech/reading center of her brain.

I was with her and his dad the day of the surgery. Amy took on more with Owen and Maya and Auntie Pam came over that Friday to help out and spend time with her favorite nephew and niece. I am so thankful for both of you in giving me the support I needed to be there and not worry that things might be in chaos at home.

The surgery went very well. Her neurosurgeon was confident, if not even a bit giddy, that he was been able to remove the whole tumor. Indeed, the entire surgery team was very impressed at how the procedure had gone and what an over-achieving patient Mom was.

She recovered well and continued to impress the staff at her cognitive abilities, which they said would be further impaired as the post-op swelling of the brain further prohibited the functions of that part of her brain.

We all drove up again this weekend to see her.

It was an exciting week for us at home. Amy and I celebrated our ninth wedding anniversary on Wednesday and I finally got the news that the "interim" title had been taken off the title of the job I have been doing since April. As of Tuesday I am now the Performing Arts Director for the City of Bloomington and the director of the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts.

Many months ago we planned this weekend as a celebration time for Amy and me. After we took Owen to a Celiac Disease conference and food expo, Mom and Dad were going to sit for the kids and we were going to go downtown for a show and an overnight by ourselves.

We still went to the Celiac conference, where we loaded up Owen on a wonderful variety of gluten free food ... but the celebration took on a different focus.

We had a wonderful time on Saturday just hanging out with Mom and Dad. We made dinner, the kids went to sleep early, and we just sat and enjoyed a wonderful, relaxed night of conversation. Mom's focus is really on being around family. And her appreciation for the people in her life has come into even sharper focus. As has ours for her. She's been doing a great job of taking care of herself and preparing for the treatment and recovery ahead.

Speaking of, the pathologist report came back on Friday and her tumor was categorized as a malignant stage four astrocytoma. She meets with her neuro oncologist on Thursday, but it is almost certain the tumor will require a mix of chemo and radiation to make sure whatever highly aggressive cancer cells might remain can be contained and removed.

There is more information about her treatment through a CaringBridge page we have started for her: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/leonannaalberts1

Family is so important, so I'll end this post with a couple pictures taken of Nana with two of her three favorite little people.

But first, a little reminder to the two grandmas. I hope you know you don't need to be celebrating a birthday or fighting to get your health back to know we all love you. These occasions and challenges bring that affection into sharper focus, but it's always there.

Take Me Out To The Ballgame!

GO YANKEES!



It was a great day as Owen, his dad, and grandpa went to the ballpark this past Saturday to cheer on their Yankees. Of course, it would have been a better day if the Yankees had won, but the trip was memorable nonetheless.



Owen's first MLB experience began with a commuter train ride in from Mom and Dad's house to Chicago's Union Station. Following a quick lunch downtown it was time for our second train ride of the day, boarding Chicago's El for a subway ride that would take us to the White Sox' U.S. Cellular Field for the ballgame.

For Owen, the day couldn't have started better. He loves trains and had a wonderful experience clickety-clacking his way to the ballpark.

It was an atypically cool August 1, with rain showers and temps checking in only at 68 degrees at game time.

We arrived with plenty of time to check out the stadium and the terrific view of downtown.

The woman who took this picture was absolutely tickled with the three of us. "Are you three generations?" she asked. When we said yes she said, "That's wonderful!" Indeed, I think Grandpa and I felt very lucky to be having this day together.

Owen was, admittedly, a bit more nervous with his new surroundings. He gave his belly button a good workout -- his calming mechanism in new situations. And I have to admit the pre-game fireworks, music, and general hoopla were pretty overwhelming.

We stayed almost two hours. Owen had had his fill, so we watched the Yankees bat at the top of the sixth inning before packing up for the day.

He was really tired. I carried him out of the ballpark and we caught the subway and then the Metra back home.

The Yankees lost 14-4 ... but I think we won regardless.