Daffy Dills

We took Eleanor to Wye Mountain today to see the flowers.



She looked at them,


felt of them,


and, of course, tasted them.


Our good friend Chessie sent Eleanor this adorable outfit months ago. Thanks Chessie!

Sophie and Eleanor

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Don't worry. Sophie had just brushed her teeth.

A Beautiful Monday

Matt stayed home from work today. Since he worked all weekend, he has quite a few extra hours to take off when he wants. We decided to take advantage of the lovely weather and go for a picnic. The last time I took Eleanor to the park, I let her play in the grass. My mom saw those pictures and said, "That poor girl needs some toys so she doesn't have to play with just grass." (Just for the record, we have toys coming out the qua-zoo.)

Thanks to her Mimi, Eleanor has fun little cars intended for outside play (and chewing).



She played with them for a while, but then went back to playing with (and eating) the grass.



Then Eleanor's good friend Sophie came over to play. Sophie is a very patient beagle. Eleanor was eager to explore this strange new animal. Sophie felt the same towards Eleanor. I think they will get along well.

On Call

When you get assigned to weekend call as a chaplain at Baptist Hospital, you are responsible for Pastoral Care needs from 8PM Friday night until 8AM Saturday and then again from 4PM Saturday until 8AM Sunday morning. I was on such an assignment this weekend and had perhaps the busiest weekends of call I’ve ever had. But nevertheless it is a good example of the kinds of work we do in terms of crisis response.

Without getting into too much detail (and violating the privacy of our patients and their families), Friday night at 9PM I was called in and didn’t finish until 4:30AM. I worked with the families of two trauma victims flown by helicopter (Med-Flight) to our hospital from scenes of accidents, one “code-blue” patient (either their heart or breathing have stopped and the staff is attempting to revive them), one brain dead patient whose family was continuing to arrive, and two deaths. Saturday night I was called at about 7:10PM and came home at 9:15 for thirty minutes before getting called back and staying until 3:30AM. Last night I worked with the families of two Med-Flights, the same brain-dead patient, and one other death.

People often ask what exactly that we do as chaplains in situations such as these and that’s difficult to explain in detail but it can mostly be summed up by our being present with families in crisis. At times we pray with and for patients and families, at times we help people know what to expect when their family members are coding, or have died. Other times we act as liaisons between medical staff and patients. We sit with husbands of wives who have been whisked away into emergency surgery in the middle of the night. We walk with grieving mothers who can’t bear being confined in small rooms laden with news of death. We listen to mothers exclaim their raging incomprehension at the meaninglessness of a bullet inside the heads of their sons (twice this weekend, actually). We look on with helplessness as a mother learns that her baby did not survive the accident* and she groans in incomprehensible pain. Today I am glad the baton of “call” has been passed to another chaplain as I am exhausted physically and emotionally, but knowing what its like to feel alone in the midst of the fear of a medical crisis, I’m glad I was able to be there for these people this weekend.



* I spent a few extra minutes this morning making sure Eleanor’s car-seat was properly configured. Perhaps this is making me a bit paranoid but I don’t want any of my friends with babies to go through what I saw last night. Here are a few notes (courtesy of Melody) on car seat safety.

A Few Notes on Car Seat Safety

- The safest place for a baby is the center of the back seat. Never put a car seat in a front seat with an airbag.
- Watch weight and height limits. If the baby’s head is within an inch of the top of the car seat, the seat is too small.
- The carrying handle on infant car seats needs to be locked down (not above the baby’s head) when driving. The principle at work here is that in an accident the seat will flip up towards the back of the car, creating a kind of safe, shell of hard plastic around the baby, covering the top opening. If the handle is up it will interfere with this protective action.
- The little plastic clip that holds the straps together should be at armpit level.
- For rear facing babies, the straps should be at or below the shoulders. For forward facing babies/children, the straps should be at or above the shoulders.
- An infant is safest when facing the rear. To protect little neck muscles, keep the baby facing the rear for as long as possible. One year AND 20 pounds is the minimum for turning them around.
- If the seat can move an inch in any direction after installed, it is not installed properly.
- The straps need to fit snug on the baby. If you can pinch it together, it’s too loose.
- http://www.aap.org/family/carseatguide.htm for more information

Tujuh Bulan

Grass
Originally uploaded by bendblock.

Seven months. We celebrated by going to a nice park and sitting in the grass. Eleanor loved the grass and watching a mob of preschoolers play.

I was looking at the shirt that she is wearing this morning and thinking, "if this were in my size, I would wear it." I don't think I would wear the matching hat though.

Video of the Day - Party in Realtime

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Okay. So I don't blame you all for not commenting on that last one. A little dark and self-indulgent and really 66% rerun photos but I wanted you to get the effect of them all together.

On Tuesday, February 28nd, 2006, Melody surprised me with the a 1/2 birthday party (to make up for the one we altogether ignored in the wake of Eleanor's arrival). It was amazing. This video is a little bit of the fun from that night. For inquiring minds the folks at the party are depicted as follows:

Matt Cleveland, Allison Cleveland, Kim Cleveland, Tiffany Stephenson, Donnie Stephenson, Meg Baumgardner, Eleanor Lumpkin, Melody Lumpkin, Joey Utter, Ben Utter, Josh Williams, Ayumi Williams, Brandy Ussery, Joel Anderson and again, Ben Utter. Hah, and you thought you all could attend my surprise 24 & 1/2 birthday party in anonymity.

I just have to brag that I have a good wife who still manages to surprise me (though I am terribly gullible). And she made a chocolate cheese-cake, to boot (or rather, to eat). And I stil have 1/2 a slice.

Photo of the Day - Delayed Tryptych Fulfilled

A ghost

is born.

Space Age Cubicle

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We never turn it on with her in it. I promise.

Yum...Table

Yum...Table
Originally uploaded by bendblock.

I finally uploaded some more pictures to our flickr site (you can see them by clicking on this picture).

The last two weeks have been very long with Eleanor being sick and me (lody) being a bit ill as well. We finally figured out how to get Eleanor to take her medicine. We have to give the dropper to her. Everything in her hands goes in her mouth, so we put the dropper in her hand and it goes in her mouth. Babies are crrrraaaaaaazy.

I've been working sudoko puzzles. The problem with them is while I'm solving them my mind is constantly singing the "onetwothree-four-five-sixseveneightnine..." from Sesame Street. Then there's never a place for the "ten...eleven-twelve."

Photo of the Day - Blink

Alas, it seems I've misplaced the third and final shot of this trio. I'll have to post them all together later. In the mean time Here's one of my favorite intergenerational shots (and I have so many).

To whom it may concern, the ladies of the house are feeling much closer to top form.

Photo of the Day - Hands

Photo of the Day - Elliott

To this day I don't remember drawing that face on my hand.
These next three qualify as something of a triptych.

I shot these one boring night after a hard day of tree-trimming. It was the same night I found out that Elliott Smith had died.

Photo of the Day - Self Portrait

A couple of years ago we lived in Malvern and I was shooting a lot of Kodak T-Max Black and White film mostly because it was cheap and I could process it in the sink at home and we didn't have a lot of money. I shot a lot of rolls and didn't get them all developed before we left for Indonesia. When we got back I rediscovered these rolls and had them developed. The last photo and the next few are from that set.

Today's pic is from one of these rolls that I apparently shot twice. The entirely accidental double-exposures made for some interesting juxtapositions (the word all artsy types love to get a chance to use). This is one of my favorites. It's one of the few pics of myself I actually like, mostly because I seem to have captured that smouldering, male-model, boy-band, album-cover look. That, and it makes it look like I'm thinking of stuff, but it's unclear what.

What do you see in it?

Photo of the Day - Chicago, a long time ago.

"All things go. All things go."

Rings and Tears

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Eleanor loves these rings from her rock-a-stack. Unfortunately, right now she has a cold. That is why the video ends the way it does. She had her six month doctor visit yesterday. She weighs 17.5 pounds and is 26 inches long. Her doctor said that she is "perfect." Then she woke up at four-thirty morning with a fever and a bad cold. Yuck When I called the doctor, the nurse said that they usually suggest waiting two days to see if a fever goes away before coming in, but since it was supposed to snow/ice tomorrow night I should take her in tomorrow if she's not better. I didn't think that I understood her right as I was standing in front of the open door relishing the springish breeze. After I hung up I checked the weather. What do you know, it is supposed to ice/snow. How bizarre.

I hope you enjoy the video.

Photo of the Day - Look out

So there you have it. The first of a new series, beginning with the dumplin'.

Photo of the Day - Dr. Brewer

(plus a conspicuous speck of dust)

Sundry Miscelany:

-Today I ran into old OBU friends at the hospital. Sam Wenger among them. Long time no see. You never know who will be wandering through there (or who I'm allowed to speak of by virtue of the rules created by the Health Information Privacy and Portability Act , HIPPA, for short [not to be confused with COBRA, the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconcilliation Act, or the enemies of G.I. Joe]).

-When your baby cries it feels like she's stabbing at your soul.

-Some have deduced by clever sleuthery and I'll be attending the Wilco Concert in Fayetteville on Mar. 18th. I'm very excited and my good friend Matt Cleveland, and oft-seen-of-late acquantence, Mason, will be there as well. If you're there I'll look for you. Especially you, Brock.

-The conference you saw Eleanor packing for in Atlanta was very enjoyable. We learned more about a group of Baptists who are doing interesting things (this same group pays the bills for our friends Shane and Dianne in Slovakia; see linked blog).

-I just don't think that good ends justify bad means. Especially if those means are torture. Cheers to those who will stand up and write something about it.

-My good friend Brandon, from whose wedding this series of photos originates, is not feeling well. He's sick, but fortunately not nearly as sick has he had thought. Good deal. I think this will be the last of the photos from his wedding. Next, we'll be moving to some photos a great deal older... Tune in tomorow to find out what... or when...

POTD - 2 4 1

Ready to Go

Ready to Go
Originally uploaded by bendblock.

Eleanor didn't quite grasp the concept of packing. She tends to be myopic.

The winner of today's contest was the first commenter with the answer: beets. Unfortunately, the contestant forfeited their prize by not signing their name.

Zombie Baby

Zombie Baby
Originally uploaded by bendblock.

Eleanor has been eating with a vengence...but what? Whoever guesses correctly wins the prize.

POTD - Returns, with Avengeance

Photo of the Day is back, with the blushing bride (or is that rouge she's applying?).

Baby Talk

Almost Hair
Originally uploaded by bendblock.

For the first time in her life, Eleanor is ingesting foods that I have never ingested. She likes bananas, but doesn't care for the rice cereal or chicken. She learned quickly what a banana is and gets excited when she sees them. She will fed herself bananas, but not anything else. She does prefer her left hand at this point. Matt pointed that out tonight. Thanks to Aunt G, we discovered that Eleanor loves Peek-A-Boo. Although, if you wait too long (more than two seconds) between the peek and the boo she sometimes gets startled instead of giddy.

We went for a walk on a mountian bike trail on Sunday. Eleanor loved it. She kicked her feet and giggled with glee at the sight of the holly and the ivy. She loves being outside.

Tonight Matt sat Eleanor in her little chair and put his little keyboard in her lap. She throughly enjoyed playing it. She would even sing along as she played, sometimes hitting a note on the keyboard then matching that note vocally. I thought that was fun.

Tomorrow is Eleanor's half birthday and the day I get to stop taking blood thinners. We are going to celebrate by going to Arkadelphia (Matt's off work since he's working Sunday).

Eleanor now weighs 16 pounds and 10 ounces.

We leave for Atlanta on Wednesday. Let me know if you have any how to keep babies from screaming on planes advice.

I'm sure all of you will want to watch the two minute video of Eleanor "eating" rice cereal. You can find it by clicking on "Moving Pictures" on the right.

Photo of the Day - Ukelele

Hmm. Seems Sammy's getting a lot of exposure.

Photo of the Day - It's Dumplin'!

My darling Melody has expressed concern that many who had become accustomed to seeing our fat lil' dumpling, Eleanor here may be disappointed by fuzzy, monochromatic wedding pictures of people they may or may not know. I would like to take this opportunity to remind you, our loyal readers, that the Flikr link in the column on the right will lead you to the latest and greatest Eleanor shots. Furthermore, fuzz, dust, and a lack of color are the charm of Kodak T-MAX or other B&W films. What would listening to your favorite LP on vinyl be without the crackle? If we wanted crystal clear color balance and megapiaxelation we would shoot digital (if we had the money to upgrade from our point-and-shoot).

As it stands, I'll be shooting film, for the principle of it (at least until I get a few more calls for paying portrait work and buy one of these).

Melody has also expressed concern that I have not yet posted a photo of the illustrious bride. I inform her and you that this is because I have very few and wish to wait until the right moment. In spite of the dearth of comments (save Ben and Moby) our tracking software informs us that this past week of "Photo of the Day" has been a sucess in upping visits to the site. I hope more of you who are enjoying will stop lurking and voice your presence.

As far as normal life goes, my work at the hospital continues to challenge me. I'm currently serving as something of a gunea pig for the Pastoral Care Department's use of the application of a Palm OS software developed for MD's. It gives all sorts of demographic info on patients and in general helps me know who's in the areas I'm responsible for. I'm running on my newest toy. I type on it with my wireless, fold-up keyboard, not mention the Greek software, MP3 function and versions of Doom and Quake for download. It's fun to feel like George Jetson. Merry X-mas. I also recently finished my application to Duke Divinity School. Next week Melody, Eleanor and I will fly to Atlanta, GA for a Retreat for young Baptist Ministers. We're looking forward to getting out of town and meeting some new people in new places. I'm always amazed at how God weaves people together.

Karis kai erene soi.
Grace and peace to you.

I don't mean it pretentious, I promise.
And if you love the gospel, then listen to Sufjan Stevens' Album "Seven Swans." I suspect he might love Jesus. Shh. Don't tell anyone.

Photo of the Day - Music

Photo of the Day - Smile

Weddings need kids.

Photo of the Day - Noir

Jason demonstrates his cool.

Photo of the Day - Lange

Clearly Sammy was overlooked as the next choice for James Bond...

Photo of the Day - "Classics, Clove"

-From the Bachelor Party

Photo of the Day - Game Over

Photo of the Day - Brandon O'Brien Upon the Day of His Wedding

I just got several B&W rolls processed and scanned so you shall be treated to a daily photo as long as I have photos to post (or until I forget). For those of you who are family of those pictured, or are indeed those pictured, be patient and I'll see that you get the url address where I have them stashed so you can get prints made if you wish. As for the lucky couple, they can expect a CD in the mail soon with the complete collection.

Reading

Reading
Originally uploaded by bendblock.

It’s time for a new post. Hmm. What is there to say? I can’t think of anything exciting that is happening. We did get 17 comments on the last post. That is an all time record for us. Matt has finished his application for Duke Divinity School. Eleanor has taken to biting me with her sharp, sharp teeth. We will be going to Atlanta in a couple of weeks for a conference. Last night Matt challenged me to find the most absurd thing for sale on ebay. I found a heart shaped potato. That’s how exciting our life is.

As always, click on the photo to see more. There's some good ones this time.

Car Seats and Carrots

Teething Carrot
Originally uploaded by bendblock.

In search of Eleanor’s next car seat, I went to Toys R Us yesterday. For all of you who are not familiar with the intricacies of car seats, consider yourselves lucky. The car seat that Eleanor is currently using is what is called an infant car seat (it’s what you see new parents lugging around with a baby in it). It is made to face the rear of the car and hold a baby who weighs 20 pounds or less. Her next car seat will be what is called a convertible car seat, one that can face the front or the back.

So, I’ve been reading reviews, consumer reports, and basically anything that I can find about convertible car seats, trying to find what will work best for Eleanor and fit in our car. Obsessive? Yeah, a little. So, I had just about decided on one when I went to Toys R Us yesterday to look at it. Yesterday just so happened to be the one day of the month that the car seat safety guy from Children’s Hospital was at the store giving out free advice and information. After a fairly one sided, too long conversation, I wanted to wrap Eleanor in bubble wrap and never take her in a car…it’s just too dangerous. Child passenger safety is this man’s life. He was spitting out statistics about how many children died in car accidents daily, how many of those deaths could have been prevented by proper car seat usage, explaining how a babies head is like a basketball on a pencil, and generally inciting terror deep in the recesses of my newly maternal nature.

He did share some useful information, mainly that children should face the rear of the car as long as possible. Most convertible car seats can face the rear until the kid is 30 pounds. Mr. Car Seat Man advocated a seat that could face the rear until 35 pounds just because it could keep them facing the back longer. The reason for this is simple if you think about it. An infant/toddler has a head disproportionately large for their body. In event of a crash, the weight of the head continuing in motion puts a large strain on the neck if the kid is facing the front.

I left more confused than when I had entered. Did I want a car seat that would work as a booster seat as well? How many recline positions should I get? Should I take the advice of Mr. Car Seat Man and buy the Eddie Bauer 3-in-1 car seat that Eleanor will use for the rest of her life? Will that car seat even fit in our car? Sigh.

In other news, Eleanor has two (sharp) teeth on her bottom gum. She bit my finger yesterday and it hurt! We have yet to give her “real” food, except for this carrot. Oh, and I was eating a banana the other day and she acted like she wanted some, so I let her lick/suck on it. She has also learned how to roll quite well. I put her to bed last night and a few minutes later she was screaming. When I went in to check on her, she was on her tummy (she goes to bed on her back) and NOT happy with the arrangement.

Prodigy

Prodigy
Originally uploaded by bendblock.

Baby milestones seem to be much like other major events in life: fuzzy. I’m learning that you can definitely tell when a milestone has been reached, but you never know the exact moment that it is achieved. Eleanor is in the process of getting a tooth. There’s a sharp white bump on her gum, but it’s not all the way through yet. She can roll over from back to front, but seems to be confused when she ends up on her stomach. She hasn’t really mastered the skill, but on occasion she rolls.

Life is normalizing after all the Christmas parties, dinners, and events. After Christmas we drove to Texas for Brandon O’Brien and Amy Packer’s wedding. We got back late on New Year’s Eve. We finally got Eleanor to bed around 11pm and fell into bed ourselves. We were awakened at midnight by pops, bangs, hoops, and hollers. I rolled over and said, “We’re old.” At least our neighbors were considerate enough to wake us in time to welcome in the new year.

I’m posting some new pictures. As always, click on the picture to see more.

Mmm...Chocolate

Mmm...Chocolate
Originally uploaded by bendblock.

We had a wonderful Christmas, Eleanor's first. We spent Christmas Eve at my (melody) parent's house. It was an exciting day full of food, fun, and even a treasure hunt. Eleanor received a new wardrobe (as in clothes, not furniture), and several toys for teething (which I think she has begun). We had a nice quiet Christmas morning, where Eleanor opened (or played with ribbons on her) presents. She got a pair of lion shoes that she wore with her pretty pink Christmas dress. Matt got a batman figure to replace the one that was stolen by the people who detailed his truck.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! I've added new pictures and a new moving pictures. Click on the picture of Eleanor eating her Hershey's bar to see more photos. Click on "Moving Pictures" to see a video of Eleanor opening a present.

Being "On Call"

***This was originally published as the "Chaplain's Corner" in the Baptist Medical Center's employee newsletter "The Connection."


It’s hard to know if my inability to remember very much of my daughter’s first few months is because of sleep deprivation or other distractions. After all, I did start work here just two weeks after she was born. There were so many adjustments to be made and so much to learn, at work and at home. People always tell you that a new baby will change your life forever, but you kind of have to live through that to know what it means. I’m still finding out. Every day my daughter, Eleanor, shows me something new about herself and I get glimpses at the woman she will become.

But I have to say that, in many ways, I’m enjoying it more now than in those first few, sleep deprived weeks. While my wife and I were attempting to adjust to providing care for our new baby who seemed to demand constant attention, I also was introduced to the concept of being “On Call.” All of us at Pastoral Care, like many other departments, take turns being on call overnight. It can be exciting, as you never know when you’ll get called. And it can also be draining as you pull back into the driveway just getting home from a call, only to hear your pager go off once again.

I remember clearly one night, after having stayed up late surfing the web, I went into the bedroom to try to lie down and get some sleep. My wife and the baby had been in their beds for a while (at that time her bed was still in our room) when I crept under the covers. I recall laying there on the edge of the bed, looking over at the pager on my nightstand, just waiting for it to go off, afraid to really let go and go to sleep because I knew if I did it would buzz and wake me up. I then turned over and saw my wife experiencing the same thing, only she wasn’t looking at the pager, she was looking at the baby, just waiting for her to wake up, to cry, to need comfort. I had to laugh. We were both “on call.”

For many of us the demands of life feel like a pager ready to ring and interrupt our sleep, or a baby, ready to wake up and scream at a moment’s notice. Our responsibilities with work, family and friends seem to compound at this time of year as we rush to fit it all in before the end of the year. As family gathers, it can be hard to enjoy the holidays when we’re on edge, waiting for some new crisis or need to break loose and fall upon us.

But this time of year is also when we are reminded of God’s presence with us. Immanuel is coming. He will be born in a manger. This is the time of year when we remember that, though God may seem distant, He is coming, out of love, to dwell among us and to transform our lives, our relationships and our communities. This baby will be born, and He will change all of our lives forever. It is our joy to find out just how, as He reveals himself to us and as we seek to let him use us to reveal Him to others, bit by bit, day by day, in this holiday season and throughout eternity.

Making Cookies with Great-Grandma

Making Cookies with Great-Grandma
Originally uploaded by bendblock.

Eleanor and I had a very busy day today. We went to my grandma's house to make her traditional Christmas sugar cookies. If you look close enough, you can see the flour on Eleanor's cheeks.

Eleanor is such a happy, thumb-sucking, fat baby. If you click on the photo, you can see more pictures.

Moving Pictures

When Matt came home from work this evening, Eleanor was in a particularly good mood. She was sitting in my lap as Matt and I were discussing the days events. Somewhere between my recounting my trip to the Hospice facility to visit my grandparents and his description of a particularly emotional death he worked with today, Eleanor started laughing...all out laughing. We caught the end of it on this video. Click "Moving Pictures" on the right under "Photos" to see it. (Thanks to Aunt Glenna for the JussPress Link)

PS- Happy St. Nick's Day!

Mirror Neurons

Picnic
Originally uploaded by bendblock.

When I went in for lab work yesterday, my doctor asked how old Eleanor was. I told him four months and he replied, "already?". I felt the same way. A third of a year has passed since Eleanor was born...already?

We went on a picnic to the river front today. It was a beautiful day.

Not Happy

Not Happy
Originally uploaded by bendblock.

When Eleanor was a couple of days old and we were still in the hospital, a staff member came in the room while she was crying. It was about three in the morning, Matt and I were exhausted and Eleanor was screaming. The staff member (later we found out she was a nurse’s aide) told us that Eleanor was starving and that we needed to give her some formula. I doubted her and my doubts were confirmed a few hours later when we talked to a doctor. I’m pretty sure she’s not starving now. At her four month doctor visit today, she was one ounce shy of fifteen pounds. She is quite the chunk.

The doctor said that it is time to start her on rice cereal. I’m a bit conflicted about starting so soon. From what I’ve read, starting “solids” later (closer to six months) reduces the likelihood of the child developing food allergies. Eleanor is at an increased risk of food allergies because Matt is allergic to peanuts. So, is she missing out on anything if we wait another month or two to introduce her to cereal?

This whole parenting thing is confusing. Everyone has an opinion about everything. How do you know who to listen to? The medical community changes its mind on how to do things with every generation (or so it seems).

Eleanor has been Little Miss Fussy Piddles this week until today. We think it was from all the traveling. She was her happy self today, and then I took her to get shots. It was not near as bad as last time. Yesterday, I started preparing her for the shots by telling her that it was going to hurt, but only for a minute and it would keep her from getting bad diseases. I even explained as best I could in Indonesian, just in case she understands that better. She did really well through all four shots, much calmer than last time. I was quite grateful for this since Matt could not get off work.

So, Matt will be finishing his chaplaincy residency either in August 2006 or August 2007 (depending on if he is offered the second year or not). Where do you think we should go after that?

Staying Warm

Staying Warm
Originally uploaded by bendblock.

We had an excellent Thanksgiving holiday. I was a bit worried about how Eleanor would react to being away from home for so long (five whole days). She did really well, even sleeping through most of our five and a half hour journey home (it's usually two hours, but tornadoes complicate matters).

We went on a walk while we were at Matt's family's house. It was quite chilly, so I put Eleanor in the baby carrier with her hat on and then put my sweater on over her. It was quite cozy and comfortable, except when she would turn her head to see things her eyes would get lost either under her hat or in the sweater.

Eleanor is asleep and I should be too. As usuall, click on the photo to see more.

Long Haired Freaky People

A couple weeks ago I started feeling really guilty about all of the landfills we were filling up with diapers. So I did some research, mostly trying to appease my guilt by proving that using cloth diapers was just too much work and too gross. But like the atheist who set out to prove God didn't exist and became a Christian, I am now a proud cloth diaper user.

The more I read, the more I realized that cloth diapers are not what they used to be. There are no pins involved, no plasticy covers, and no dunking used diapers in the toilet. The diapers I chose have snaps and soft fleece inside (it keeps Eleanor's bum quite dry and cozy). The diapers come in several colors and prints. I even found one site that sells batik diapers. Maybe Eleanor will get one of those for Christmas.

I have to admitt that I feel quite betrayed. I never saw an advertisement for any kind of cloth diapers in all the pregnancy and parenting magazines and books. Diaper companies have money, so they convince us that putting plasticy chemicals up against our babies skins is good for them, and that everyone does it so it must be okay. No one (except April and Levi) told me that cloth diapering could be as easy as it is. Instead of tossing the diapers in the trash, they go in the washing machine. Doesn't that make more sense?

Well, I have to go hug a tree.

At The River

At The River
Originally uploaded by bendblock.

We went on a hayride with our Sunday school class on Sunday evening. It was the perfect day for hayriding, as it was chilly but not cold (and not 86 degrees like today!). The trees are changing into their fall colors and the fields that we rode through were newly harvested.

In other news, we went back to the hematologist yesterday. He told me to take the rat poison for three more months. After that we go back for a couple more tests to see if I have any other clotting disorders that they can't test for while on the medicine. I am very happy to not have to have surgery and to be able to get off of the medication. Matt and I celebrated this with ice cream and a movie.

Matt is still very much enjoying his job and I am learning how to answer the constant "Do you work?" stream of questions. My favorite responses so far include:

"No, I spend my days lounging in a pool with various drinks that have umbrellas in them."

"Oh, good heavens no! That's why I have a husband."

"June Cleaver is my name."

Eleanor beacons and I must go.

Eleanor in Glasses

Eleanor in Glasses
Originally uploaded by bendblock.

Pink Onsie

Pink Onsie
Originally uploaded by bendblock.

Today Is My 1/4th Birthday!

Bumbo Time
Originally uploaded by bendblock.

Eleanor is three months old today. In three short months she has learned to smile, raise her head and hold it up, make all kinds of fun noises, and sleep for eight continuous hours. She has gained over 7 pounds and goes through at least three outfits everyday. She likes books by Eric Carle and LOVES bath time.