This week hasn't been all that exciting, it's just been life as usual. However, this weekend, Dave's been able to spend a lot of time with us, which has been greatly needed since when we usually see him he's looking over his Greek grammar book or talking to us in between flashcard revising. So, this weekend has been fantastic. Ben's typically been going to bed at his usual times and sleeping for 12 hours each night, which we love because then Dave and I get to catch up.
Since we had today with "daddy" we decided to go, as a family, with friends to see our lovely Pirates take on the Giants. This was Ben's first ball game and my first game at PNC Park. I know it will not be one I forget. The boys decided to get seats under covering, since both families had little ones we didn't want to burn to a crisp. It proved to be a life saver in the 7th inning, when the sky opened up, in a matter of 2 minutes, over the park. It rained for 45 minutes. Most of which - it chucked it down. We could no longer see the city. We could barely make out the other side of the park. It was A LOT of water!!!! The outfield literally became one huge puddle. Lightning struck, and cracked loudly, several times around PNC. In fact one strike hit the rod on the Highmark building. (Truth) At this point the wives looked at our loving husbands and said, you get the cars. That never happened.
Mainly because we're such devoted fans... Dave, Ben, and I all stuck out the 2 hour 5 min rain delay and finished the rest of the game, which went into an extra inning, just so we could be sure that we got our money's worth.
There was something mesmerizing about watching all that rain fall. There were literally sheets of it falling at similar angles, but at differing quantities. There's something about seeing the sun hit buildings, trees, colors. It's a different color, quality of light. The air is clear and crisp, not hazy anymore. The American flag, though thoroughly soaked, still waved in the lights of the park. Then, as the rain cleared, it was educational to watch how the field crews got the field ready for play. We were watching people dance, in a sense.
Later the players came out to warm up, and the 25,000+ who stuck out the rain returned, with food, to wipe down their seats, and get comfortable again. I believe we had one out in the top of the 7th, when the rain took over. So we finished that inning and went onto the 8th, still scoreless until Todd Linden homered for SF. Which is when we all thought, great another loss. Yet, just as we thought we were a few outs from driving home to put Ben to sleep, Jose Castillo tied the game and we went into extra innings. Yea! (As if we hadn't been there long enough already.) Finally, Jose Hernandez got the Buccos their 2-1 victory in the bottom of the 10th. We didn't even stay to see him run. Once the winning run scored, we were up and on our way home.
Ben was such a blessing the entire day. He was so good other fans commented on him to us. Poor guy...every time he fell asleep for 5 minutes, the crowd would cheer and wake him up again. I figured he'd just sleep thru it, like he did with the fireworks on the 4th and worship at church, etc, but he didn't. He stayed awake the whole time basically. He loves to people watch though. His eyes were HUGE and he smiled and flirted with all the people around us. So, we left the game, fed him his last meal for the day, bathed him, and he played and babbled himself to sleep. I guess we'll see if he sleeps in, since he missed his nap. I doubt it.
It was a long day at the ballpark, but we wouldn't trade it for the world. We were together. We were with friends. We enjoyed some cool, refreshing rain. We saw a show on and off the field. We came home and relaxed together. These are the little treasures that help keep us going.
Sunday, July 30
Friday, July 21
Sweet Taters
this week i had my first big boy meal. mommy and daddy made me some yummy sweet potatoes, and i loved it. i've been eating them a lot this week. mommy says next week we may try a different food, but this week it's sweet taters for me.
Wednesday, July 19
Congratulations!!!
To Aunt C and Uncle B - congratulations on your new addition!!! I'm so excited that i have a cousin.
Heat Wave
The temperatures here in PA are quite hot and definitely sticky. They have been for quite a while now, which has challenged us to put on our AC. (That doesn't happen too often here.) Which is quite a bit different to sweating it out in AZ last summer. However I'm sure our AZ friends might be impressed that our car registered the temp at 104, as I drove to my photo class just yesterday. I would trade 125 in Phoenix any day for 104 in muggy Pittsburgh, temperaturewise. There are other things I love and forgot I missed about Pitt. Like the fact that you can still get a COLD shower in the heat of the summer or get a cold glass of water straight from the tap. We have also enjoyed those wonderful days where you sweat out the sun, but then at night the air cools off soooo much that you put the fans in the windows and pull up the down comforter.
Since the temps are not dropping that low at the moment we decided to head off to see family, making very sure that they were family with a pool. This also gave us some fun to see how Ben took to the water. He loves it during bathtime. So, we've started to fill his tub outside as a pool on these hot days.(See previous post/photos.) Now, we got to see how he's grown since Memorial Day's pool experience. Ben absolutely loved it. He splashed around for a bit in his whale floatie and then I took him out on his own. He kicked and kicked and kicked his little legs, and while he was on his tummy, he decided to put his whole face in the water. The first time surprised him a bit, but not too bad because he continued testing the water off and on the whole day. It felt like we were in the pool for about 2 hours for our first go and then about another hour later on. (Grandparents not to worry, we did use a lot of SPF 45.) In the end he enjoyed the pool so much that he fell asleep, while floating in his whale. Who knows maybe we have a little swimmer in our midst.
Greek is more than half over, which means about 3 more weeks and then Dave gets a much needed break from his studies. He is very committed to all these classes, and it's been impressive watching how dedicated he's been. I'm not sure I could finish 3 hours of class and then study four more hours on my own on a daily basis, while working and being a new daddy. But he has and is. Well done!!!
Photography is coming along nicely. This is our fourth week of class and we finally were able to bring our first black and white prints to class. Printing is such a treat. You come into the darkroom with a blank sheet of paper and undeveloped film. You leave with negatives, a contact sheet, and your very own prints. Putting the blank paper into the developer and watching an image arise is quite an experience. Even with all the new digital cameras and goodies they're coming out with, I think I'll stick to B&W and doing my own prints. It's countercultural.
Apart from that life continues.
Since the temps are not dropping that low at the moment we decided to head off to see family, making very sure that they were family with a pool. This also gave us some fun to see how Ben took to the water. He loves it during bathtime. So, we've started to fill his tub outside as a pool on these hot days.(See previous post/photos.) Now, we got to see how he's grown since Memorial Day's pool experience. Ben absolutely loved it. He splashed around for a bit in his whale floatie and then I took him out on his own. He kicked and kicked and kicked his little legs, and while he was on his tummy, he decided to put his whole face in the water. The first time surprised him a bit, but not too bad because he continued testing the water off and on the whole day. It felt like we were in the pool for about 2 hours for our first go and then about another hour later on. (Grandparents not to worry, we did use a lot of SPF 45.) In the end he enjoyed the pool so much that he fell asleep, while floating in his whale. Who knows maybe we have a little swimmer in our midst.
Greek is more than half over, which means about 3 more weeks and then Dave gets a much needed break from his studies. He is very committed to all these classes, and it's been impressive watching how dedicated he's been. I'm not sure I could finish 3 hours of class and then study four more hours on my own on a daily basis, while working and being a new daddy. But he has and is. Well done!!!
Photography is coming along nicely. This is our fourth week of class and we finally were able to bring our first black and white prints to class. Printing is such a treat. You come into the darkroom with a blank sheet of paper and undeveloped film. You leave with negatives, a contact sheet, and your very own prints. Putting the blank paper into the developer and watching an image arise is quite an experience. Even with all the new digital cameras and goodies they're coming out with, I think I'll stick to B&W and doing my own prints. It's countercultural.
Apart from that life continues.
Monday, July 10
It's not ALL about Ben
Our friend Uncle Mike is protesting that we have too many photos of Ben on here. He has requested some of ourselves. So, here's to you BIG MIKE!!!
Sunday, July 9
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pool time
okay, well maybe it's not a pool, but i don't really know the difference. i just care that the water was cool and so was i. grandma and grandpa came to visit and when they do i know there will be a lot of photos. i made sure i posted some of my best work.(sorry photos not working just yet) i just keep getting cuter and cuter, or at least that's what people keep telling me, but who am i to complain.
mommy and i have been doing a lot together lately. we've been for walks all over our town and we've been to a few farmer's markets. we've been shopping for groceries and i help mommy hold her list and sometimes i hold her credit cards. i am learning a lot of new stuff at home. i've been pushing myself around in my walker and jumping in my jonny jump up. i've also been pushing myself up on my knees, but i just can't quite figure out how to get up on my hands and knees. also this week i've been rather irritated by this pain in my lower gums. ice cold washcloths are great to chew on and they help the pain, a little. i've even started to find my toes. daddy thinks it's so funny when i find my toes. so i do it to make him laugh. he's funny when he laughs.
i saw my first ever fireworks this week and i loved them. i would watch them go all the way up in the sky and then burst and fall back down. finally, i watched them so long i think i fell asleep because the next thing i remember was daddy putting me back in my bed. it had been a long day though. we all went to the fair and saw a lot of different animals. they were really noisy and some were very fast around their racetracks. then we went to a demolition derby. it's where a lot of things get smashed. mommy told me they were smashing school buses and that one day i'd be riding one. i hope the one i ride doesn't look like the ones i saw.
daddy is still busy at school and work. he keeps showing me all these flashcards with weird symbols on them and then telling me what they mean. it's ALL greek to me though. i do like visiting daddy at work. mommy and i go see him a lot. i'm not sure if mommy goes to see daddy or if she just likes all the drinks. sometimes they're hot. sometimes they're cold.
mommy and i have also been going to daddy's football games. he plays for a team called bamboo. it looks like a lot of fun. we've also been watching a lot of football on tv. although mommy says that today was the last game and that we can't tell daddy who won just yet since he missed it. i hope i don't tell him italy won.
well mommy says it's time for bed. so i better be going.
mommy and i have been doing a lot together lately. we've been for walks all over our town and we've been to a few farmer's markets. we've been shopping for groceries and i help mommy hold her list and sometimes i hold her credit cards. i am learning a lot of new stuff at home. i've been pushing myself around in my walker and jumping in my jonny jump up. i've also been pushing myself up on my knees, but i just can't quite figure out how to get up on my hands and knees. also this week i've been rather irritated by this pain in my lower gums. ice cold washcloths are great to chew on and they help the pain, a little. i've even started to find my toes. daddy thinks it's so funny when i find my toes. so i do it to make him laugh. he's funny when he laughs.
i saw my first ever fireworks this week and i loved them. i would watch them go all the way up in the sky and then burst and fall back down. finally, i watched them so long i think i fell asleep because the next thing i remember was daddy putting me back in my bed. it had been a long day though. we all went to the fair and saw a lot of different animals. they were really noisy and some were very fast around their racetracks. then we went to a demolition derby. it's where a lot of things get smashed. mommy told me they were smashing school buses and that one day i'd be riding one. i hope the one i ride doesn't look like the ones i saw.
daddy is still busy at school and work. he keeps showing me all these flashcards with weird symbols on them and then telling me what they mean. it's ALL greek to me though. i do like visiting daddy at work. mommy and i go see him a lot. i'm not sure if mommy goes to see daddy or if she just likes all the drinks. sometimes they're hot. sometimes they're cold.
mommy and i have also been going to daddy's football games. he plays for a team called bamboo. it looks like a lot of fun. we've also been watching a lot of football on tv. although mommy says that today was the last game and that we can't tell daddy who won just yet since he missed it. i hope i don't tell him italy won.
well mommy says it's time for bed. so i better be going.
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