Summertime's here

Will is 5 months old now, and we're having fun with him out in the sun. Christian was kind enough to take off a few days from work recently in order to give me some time to work on my dissertation, applications, and research article writing, etc., and Will really enjoyed all the extra time with his papa. (and I loved getting more work done)

Will LOVES looking up at the trees

just father and son hanging out... no words to describe

(will got vaccines that day... hence, the bandaids)

the famous harness- we wouldn't have survived without it!

So... Will measured in at 20 lbs this month (!) and we thought, since he's always trying to stand, that we'd get him a jumper to help him feel more mobile and get him some exercise ... which, who knows, might slow down his continuously rapid weight gain. Here he is enjoying his first round of fabulous jumps--




And, of course, I can't let the month go by without sharing photos of family, who came in town, holding William.

Jeff: my bro-in-law

and his wife, my sister: Kathy

our mom, Esther

our dad, Jody

We always love it when family and friends come by, and Will is becoming more and more social as the months go by. Will still can't sit unsupported, but I've been working on that with him more and more, as we will probably need to move him out of the infant carrier/car seat (which has a weight limit of 22 lbs) to our convertible car seat (which can take up to a 40 lbs rear-facing child), and that transition would be a lot easier if he could sit on his own. :) I still need to transition him to solid-food feeding, but that will happen soon.

Right now, I've been focusing on reading up on infant development/attachment theory in some research-oriented books and journals, so that I can better understand what people have found in terms of building a secure attachment while helping their child to sleep better and other such things. Does that sound weird? I think most parents now-a-days like reading "how-to" books and there are A LOT of books and equally as many opinions out there. It makes it hard, as a parent, to know what would be best to do. Typically, I prefer to go with my intuition/ gut reaction to my particular child (as I agree that each child is a bit different), but I suppose my training has given me a desire to know if there have actually been some studies done out there.


Well, much love to you all!

can he sit? well, only with a little support

and so begins the journey toward self-feeding...

look at him begin to stand. :)

(Will doesn't take a pacifier or suck the traditional thumb...
oh, no, he takes the fist... two fists on special occasions)

Just an aside... Emma's artwork

Hello! I have begun to accumulate photos of some of my more memorable paintings and drawings. I posted them on facebook, but thought I might put them here as well for those who are curious.

an oil painting inspired by emotion

an oil self-portrait done for a college painting assignment- I sat in front of a mirror for about 20 hrs over 4 days to paint this (and yes, I realize the nose is not proportional)

an oil painting that has not yet been finished. it has been my attempt to work through/process the death of our unborn child to miscarriage. there is a little girl walking along a dirt road hand-in-hand with Jesus. to the right are tall groves of trees and to the left is a vast meadow.

a watercolor painting I did in HS inspired by the photograph to the right from National Geographic

an oil painting that was the first in my "pure emotion" series. Christian titled it, "Passion."

this is sort of a small version of the latter, only it's done in a different style of paint stroke

this is HS piece that was again inspired by a National Geographic photo

Ruth has affectionately titled this ink-on-paper drawing as the "bug" picture

this oil painting was created for the Psych dept at Wheaton, as they asked if I would create a painting for them. it was inspired by my clinical work with clients in therapy. it's called, "Stretch" and the caption Christian and I wrote beside it reads:

In psychotherapy both the therapist and
the client are forced to grow.
Sometimes this growth is painful and violent,
sometimes it's beautiful.

Many times it's both.

this was an assignment in college, a simple oil painting

this was when we were studying Van Gogh and impressionism in HS. it's an acrylic painting.

this is an oil painting that I created one summer from a photo I took of a flower on campus

another old HS painting. this one is acrylic and inspired by a photo I took while hiking in CO.