Mosaic Life

Cuteness update: 5 months

October 8, 2008 on 8:50 am | In entertainment, family | 2 Comments

We were able to make a trip to Alabama last weekend despite how unbelievably busy we are. I’ll be happy when we’re less busy and can enjoy such luxuries as breathing and doing the dishes. Anyway, highlights were being able to see my painfully cute niece and nephew and playing Rock Band (now I have a huge urge to listen to Garbage and Radiohead).

Aren’t footie pajamas the cutest? When I have kids, that’s all they’ll wear. In public, during the summer, that’s it.

Rylan is such a sweet baby. You can usually get her to smile just by smiling at her, which never worked with me. I’ve heard that when I was a baby I was more into crying. I do recall that as a kid I enjoyed glaring, too, and pinching. One of my teachers told me that I was so much prettier when I smiled, but what kind of motivation is that until becoming interested in boys? No motivation at all I tell you. One thing that Rylan already shares with my baby self is that she’s already figured out how to throw a tantrum. Seriously. She goes all limp or puts her arms back like she’s skiing. Remember little girl, pizza and french fries. You’ll make an olympic skier someday, tantrum or not.

WND_0900

Dawson is getting so big. He’s already wearing clothes recommended for 9-month-olds. He could be a prize-winning spitter upper if he put his mind to it. He also is very much into eating, which shows that he too takes after his auntie. When I was a child, my grandma nick-named me “bottomless pit,” which isn’t as cute as my other nicknames, roly poly or Winnie the Pooh (which I hated at the time).

Anyway, that’s the cuteness update for the month. I’m glad I usually get to see them each month as they develop.

Cuteness update

September 4, 2008 on 10:31 am | In family | 1 Comment

We saw our niece and nephew over Labor Day weekend, and I can’t believe how fast they are growing up. They’re already 4 months old.

Rylan is starting to look more and more like my sister, with her brown eyes and defined eyebrows (a trait which we share). She’s a happy baby, and it doesn’t take much to get her to smile and laugh at you. Of course, I’m not usually the type to make very exaggerated facial expressions, especially happy ones, but these babies manage to get it out of me.

Dawson has gotten so big. He’s 15 1/2 pounds and has a death grip on him. It’s funny because when you’re holding him, he squirms as if he’s got places to go, people to see, and he’s in a hurry, yo. But I’m like, dude, you just mastered holding up your head and you just spit up on my flip flop. Slow down.

When you lay them next to each other, a lot of times they’ll hold hands on their own. I mean, sure, they probably have no idea what they’re doing really, but it’s still really sweet. I must admit that sometimes Rylan will use that time to pinch her brother on the ear. Did I mention that I pinched like crazy when I was little? She’s taking after her auntie. How sweet.

Christening away the weekend

August 6, 2008 on 9:58 am | In family | No Comments

Wow, is it Wednesday already? And I’m just now getting around to writing about the weekend. Ah well, better late than never.

We went to Alabama for a good old fashioned christening. My sister’s twins, Rylan and Dawson, were christened at the very same church that my sister and her husband were married in. I was able to get a lot of practice with my new camera, which my dad got me as an early birthday/graduation gift. It’s a Canon Rebel EOS Xsi. Below is a photo of Brandi and Dawson that I took with my 50mm lens.

Doesn’t he have the bluest eyes? He’s gotten to be quite chunky since the last time I saw him. But that’s the good thing about babies. They can get chunkier and it only adds to the cuteness. Next is a photo I took of Ally Grace, Rylan, and Dawson lying on the bed:

It wasn’t too long ago that the three were still in their mamas’ tummies. Ally Grace is about 2 months older than the twins, and has about 3 inches more hair. Aren’t they cute?

As for the actual christening, I tried to avoid using a flash in the church, but here’s a picture of Rylan in her bonnet:

The babies were actually great during their christening. Dawson squealed and laughed when he felt water on him because he thought it was bathtime. As you can see from above, Rylan was pretty much just sleepy. But neither cried.

Anyway, I enjoyed relentlessly photographing everyone and everything this weekend while trying to get this hang of my new camera. It was also really nice to be around my family. I’m so glad that we live close enough now that we can do that.

Catching up

July 11, 2008 on 8:43 am | In travel, school, family | No Comments

Man, this week has been rough. I’m not sure if it’s that I’m coming back from vacation, or if I have jet lag, or if it’s just that my body has decided to rebel against me, but it’s been really hard to get through the last few days. I feel like I’m going in slow motion or something. Brandon gets home tomorrow (he stayed an extra week for work), which will be really nice. Things will feel more normal then.

I was able to visit my sister and the babies the weekend before we left for California. Rylan and Dawson are doing great. Dawson is nearly 2 pounds heavier than Rylan now, and they’re both developing like crazy. Dawson can hold his head up, and Rylan can pretty much melt a heart of ice with her smiles. They are both excellent poopers. They’re going to be christened on Sunday, August 3rd, which will probably be the next time I see them, what with my terrible schedule.

California was great. It was really nice to be back. As we left the airport, I just kept marveling at how sunny and beautiful it was. It all felt so familiar, which it should, since I lived there 4 years, but it’s funny how a place littered with palm trees, beaches, and beautiful people could feel like home while at the same time, a place like my tiny hometown (which lacks beaches and palm trees but does have old homes and a Walmart) feels like home. It was really good to see some of our friends and Brandon’s family again as well. I haven’t been back since we moved, which was nearly 2 years ago, so it felt a little surreal. But we were able to relax and do some of the things that we were too busy to do while we lived there, so it was nice.

I started my Shakespeare class on Monday. We’re reading King Henry V and watching both movie versions of it. This play didn’t really do a great job of convincing me that I’m going to enjoy reading Shakespeare’s work. I couldn’t slog through the reading what with my lack of back story information and my annoyance at having to check the bottom of the page for a translation of every word, so I watched the movie with subtitles on. It’s silly to have to read the plays anyway, as they were meant to be seen. I think we’re reading Macbeth next, which I seem to recall vaguely enjoying in the past. Doesn’t it have witches and the quote, “Out, out, damn spot”? That may make it more worthwhile.

One of those update blogs, sans crusty eye talk

June 19, 2008 on 8:46 am | In school, family | 1 Comment

I’ll be finished with my first session of summer semester in exactly one week. I’m pretty excited about that, because I feel like I’ll finally have a chance to breathe. This session has seemed exceptionally brutal, even compared to last session when I was taking a language. I have three papers to write before Thursday, so we’ll see how that goes.

Next weekend I plan to visit my sister and the babies. I can’t wait to see them; I hear Dawson has become quite a chunky monkey (outweighing his sister by nearly a pound), and that Rylan still spends much of her time sleeping. I’m going to be taking Saturday classes starting next session (after July 7th or so) until fall semester is over. Definitely not looking forward to getting up early on Saturdays.

And then I’m going to be visiting California June 30 to July 5. Brandon is staying another week afterward for work. I’m really looking forward to the visit, especially since I haven’t been back since we moved. I’m hoping to spend a lot of time being lazy and getting sunburned on the beach. Good plan, right? We also plan to see friends/family, so that should be a good time.

I’m mostly looking forward to having time off. It’s been a while since I’ve taken a whole week of vacation. It’ll actually feel like summer, even if it’s only for 7 days.

I told you they were cute

May 28, 2008 on 3:10 pm | In family | 2 Comments

I was able to make a quick trip last weekend to see my sister and the babies. It’s amazing how much they change in such a short amount of time. You can already tell how their little personalities are developing.

Here’s Dawson, very much concerned about the world. We lovingly refer to him as the squeaky wheel, because he indeed knows how to get the grease, or more practically, milk. He lets the whole house (and neighborhood) know when he is hungry, needs his diaper changed, or just plain isn’t pleased with this whole “life” thing. But he makes up for it in the brief moments that he’s not crying so hard that he’s snorting.

And here’s Rylan, who is much more content to observe the world, coo, and sleep. Oh, but she really hates her tummy medicine.

Her eyes already seem to be turning brown. Both my sister and brother-in-law have brown eyes, so I expect she’ll have an almond-tinted eye color. Notice how her hand is balled into a fist? For some reason, she likes to extend her right arm out with her fist in the air, which we jokingly refer to as her declaration of “baby power.” So during my visit I was sitting in the recliner holding Dawson when my sister laid Rylan on the couch and walked away to get something. Over the arm of the couch, all I could see from my vantage point was a tiny fist in the air. Baby power, indeed, little Rylan.

Oh, and they both like to sleep with their arms over their heads.

Summer semester begins

May 14, 2008 on 10:27 am | In school, family | 2 Comments

Or it began last night. My Global Communications class got cancelled like, an hour before it was to begin, so I switched to a class on Special Topics in Literature: F. Scott Fitzgerald. I know, awesome, right? I’m genuinely excited about taking this class, even though it means a lot more reading. At least it will be enjoyable reading.

I had a great time last weekend in Auburn. It was so hard to leave afterward. The babies are at a point right now where they mostly sleep, and Rylan has already started smiling. And I realize that she’s probably smiling because of gas, but she just looks so incredibly happy. Dawson’s facial expressions are much more serious, as though he’s concerned about the state of the world already. I tried to reassure him that the economy will get better, but he responded by pooping and maybe spitting up a little. Right, the usual response.

I’m an auntie!

April 30, 2008 on 12:31 pm | In family | 4 Comments

Yesterday morning I became an aunt to two beautiful little babies. Introducing Dawson and Rylan Streetman:

Dawson Cameron was born at 6:36 a.m., weighing 6 pounds, at 19 inches long. Dawson spent the next two hours kicking and flailing around, seeming quite happy to have room to do so.

Rylan Michelle was born two minutes later, weighing 5 pounds and 11 ounces, at 19 inches long. Rylan just laid there looking around calmly, perhaps happy that she was no longer being kicked in the head by her brother.

Brandi and the babies are doing very well, healthy and happy. Cam is enjoying his new role as a father, looking forward to diapers and the lack of sleep.

I’m so excited about being an aunt. The babies are absolutely adorable, and I’m so glad that things went smoothly. Yay, they’re finally here!

P.S. Brandon also had a birthday yesterday. Before you go thinking his birthday, being usurped by the twins, went unnoticed, he had two birthday cakes, got more presents than usual, and had a birthday get-together. So his birthday was well-celebrated. Happy birthday, sweetie! Love you!

Baby (Babies?) Watch 2008

April 14, 2008 on 8:55 am | In family | No Comments

So it turns out that my sister’s twins aren’t as eager to be born as it seemed. So, a c-section has been planned for April 29th (though a c-section is not necessarily ideal, the doctor recommended it because one baby is breech and they often have complications with twins). That means that I will be an aunt on or before Brandon’s birthday. Oh, and my final exams are also that day. So it could be a busy one. The babies will be considered full-term as of next Sunday, so things are going really well. I’m just ready to meet my new niece and nephew and I’m sure my sister wouldn’t mind not having to lug around 12 pounds of baby. Not that she’s not enjoying the beauty and wonder that comes with gestation.

So yeah, exciting stuff.

Any day now

March 31, 2008 on 9:04 am | In family | 5 Comments

So last week my sister’s doctor told her that the twins are now developed enough to be born healthy. (Right now she is 34 weeks and 1 day along.) The doctor used the term “take-home babies” to describe their state. Which made me think of the drive-thru. Would you like a drink with your babies? Hot, fire, or mild sauce?

This is great news since she’s been having contractions for over a week. So any day now I could get the “it’s time” call. I’m just hoping it doesn’t happen Tuesday, the anniversary of my wreck. That wouldn’t be cool. Although I am excited about finally meeting Rylan and Dawson. Exciting stuff.