Starting the new year with new skills

This month Boaz has mastered the word "mama" and opening the car door. Bess is happy about one of these things.

Boaz's first 7 months in pictures

Boaz's first 7 months in pictures

Seven months more in love with our boy.

First Driving Lesson

Boaz's first lesson was how to make the serious "I'm driving" expression. Fortunately that can be taught with the car in park.

6 months of Boaz!

At his check-up last Friday Bo weighed in at 17 pounds 1 ounce.  That's four times his birth weight!  To celebrate his 0.5 year birthday, he got a new high chair and broke it in while eating (well, tasting and smearing) his first semi-solid food: applesauce.  He seemed to quite enjoy it, so I guess he is ready to move into the trying a new food a week stage.  He's been watching us eat with interest and just last week began grabbing at my bowl/spoon so it's no longer safe to eat with him on my lap.  I'm simultaneously happy my boy is growing so healthy and strong, and weepy that he's no longer exclusively nursing.  Though I know momma's milk will remain the main nutrient source for at least the next 6 months, this heralds his first step towards independence. Also of note, Boaz rolled over completely from back to front Tuesday morning for the first time and is sitting up unassisted for a whole 30 seconds before tipping to the side.  It is no longer safe to leave him in his bouncy seat as he can arch his back to "jump" out!  Raspberries are still his favorite form of communication, but he is also working on the "a" sound.  He can get up a really hearty laugh now, but only for the ladies at work who know how to tickle his funny bone.  We're starting the transition to Bo staying home with the babysitter instead of coming to work with mom, but let's not talk about that or I will really start to cry.  I am so thankful for the blessing of his life, and want to enjoy every minute of him.

~20 weeks

Boaz just recently started enjoying toys. In this blurry action shot, he's is having fun making his ladybug book go crinkle-crinkle.

18 weeks

An early morning.

11 weeks chronological (4.5 developmental)

10 weeks (3.5 post edd)

Moma catching a rare moment of rest. Those have been few and far between.

10 weeks (3weeks4days post EDD)

Fathers' Day at the Loveless Cafe and little blue foot prints. 

9 weeks (2.5 post-edd)

His mom decided no duckies for today. Time for big boy clothes -- green stripes.

7 weeks old

"Tuesday's Child is full of grace"

Happy Due Date!

Boaz Alan Greevy 1st 6 wks

2008-July: Fasy & Jennifer's Wedding

Rob's elder brother Fasy was married to his true love Jennifer in a lovely outdoor ceremony in Erie, PA July 18, 2008. All the cute kids were in attendance, and too many photos were taken to post here, so take a look at the picaso slideshow.

Fasy & Jennifer

We took advantage of a few days off from work to relax and enjoy a brief summer vacation in Erie. Besides the wedding, the highlights were the fantastic and romantic bed and breakfast where we stayed and Bess' tour de Presque Isle via a water taxi and a big yellow bike. Rob enjoyed a day at the waterpark with his nieces and many hands of hearts with Ben and the family.

2008 Visitors- S.Hock, PhD

We love houseguests! Especially when said guest's idea of a good time is playing non-stop games all day and night. :} Rob's hometown friend and grad school roommate Steve joined us for a 36 hour stop on his Summer Tour of the Southeast. Friday night, after dinner at The Loveless Cafe, we warmed up with a few rounds of Flux and then Steve and Rob indulged in a game of Knightmare Chess.


Saturday, after breakfast of Bess' crepes with a side of philosophy and literature, we played Settlers of Catan non-stop.
Rob dominated the game until Steve and Bess decided to rearrange the tiles to make as equitable a board as possible, so our skill at world domination could outshine mere chance of rolling #3 fifty times in a row. As you can see from these three photos of us gloating over our wins, "the longest road" was certainly a much sought-after bonus card!

The end score was Rob: 3 Steve: 2 Bess: 2.

Below are two configurations of our attempts to create a "fair and equitable" Ile de Catan on which to settle.

2007 Visitors - Aunt Joy & Uncle Dan

Aunt Joy & Uncle Dan drove down from Indiana to visit while Dad was in town, August 2007. Joy has beautiful gardens around her home, and brought me many clippings to get me started on my own yard. Unfortunately, Dad and I found out we have Poison Ivy growing in the brush along the gully! We had a miserable couple of very itchy weeks after trying to clear out the brush to get ready for the planting! As you can see from the following pics, our region was in the midst of a drought and this made difficult digging in the hard-as-cement soil. Despite the heat and hard work, Joy & her "baby brother" seem to have had a good time landscaping our yard.

Joy and Dan have a time-share near us. We had dinner with them one night and took advantage of the pool for a nice swim.

Rob and I enjoyed our visitors and look forward to learning more about plants & birds from my Aunty. Dan, Dad, and Joy seem to have enjoyed their visit very much too from their smiles. :}

2007 Visitors -Captain Joe

In August 2007 Dad left his sailboat Jubilee behind in Ecuador for a month to visit us and other family here in the States. He's not one to be idle, and we kept him pretty busy with lots of home repairs. We also enjoyed many walks together: around the neighborhood, along the riverside, and in the Warner Park woods. Dad likes to eat good food, and cooked many meals for us to enjoy together. Here we are having a leftover smorgasbord one afternoon of salad, cheese, bread, and fruit. Yum!




We also played many games together, one of our favorites being FLUXX, where the rules keep changing as you play.



I won this round with my favorite goal card "Squishy Chocolate" (combination of Sunshine & Chocolate).



Dad won the next round with the goal card "Winning the Lottery" (combination of Dreams and Money).






One of our favorite local restaurants is The Loveless Cafe, which has the best biscuits around served with old-timey Southern gravy. I think of Dad every time I eat there because this is one of his favorite "comfort food" breakfasts. Here we are enjoying Dad's homemade Biscuits & Gravy for breakfast. Yum!




This is the morning Dad flew back to his floating home, I had to go to work at the clinic and so Rob drove him to the airport. We really enjoyed having The Captain under our roof (and not just because he's so handy with home repairs!). We wish we lived closer together or could visit more often. It's hard to have family all over the globe. Though we know he's happy to be back in the warm weather in Ecuador!

Birthdays!

Rob turned thirty-something in May. We celebrated with lunch out at O'Charlies and then a home-made Boston Cream Cake (his favorite).







Bess turned thirty-something in November. We celebrated with lunch out at our favorite local Thai restaurant, a hike in the Warner Park woods, and a fancy tea party for two at home with a Green Tea Cake from Alpha Bakery.

2007 Visitors - Heather, Jason, & Alice

In April, 2007 we were delighted to host our friends from Philly as they were traveling in the South. Here they are watching a martial arts demonstration in Dragon Park.


Singing praise songs on the back porch.


What a look of love Allie has for her daddy.


Heather & Alice enjoyed our backyard garden.


Playing games late into the night... H&J introduced us to the card game "Set".
(Alice and Robert were more entertained by the cups and dice.)

2007 Visitors - Hope

Nothing is better to celebrate a new home than houseguests! Hope was our first & second houseguest, though we always seem to have too much fun to stop and take pictures while she is here.

My fond memories of her visit in 2007 were playing "eco-flux", hiking in the Warner Park woods, and enjoying Irish breakfast tea out of "fancy tea cups". Not to be sexist, but tea parties really are better with girlfriends!


At our 2006 potluck wedding reception with some of the GCF group (Hope is at the top).

Hope with her namesake "Alice Hope" in 08/2006. Hope will be the first to tell you she prefers dogs & cats to babies. :}

Making a House our Home

Anyone who knows Rob will understand that our house was a beautiful blank canvas when we (finally) moved in together January 2007. Not much furniture to get in the way! After 15 years of sleeping on the floor I am happy to say he now prefers sleeping in our big organic bed and doesn't mind sitting down at the table to eat (sometimes). I have "craigslist" to thank for most of the furnishings, but Pam & Gram to thank for all my pretty dishes. And of course, no home is complete without a little garden to dig in (says the girl who used to eat mud pies). It's nice to feel settled!