Chaos and Disarray

As some of you know, Rog decided awhile ago to dig in and begin his biggest project yet, one that had to be completed in a somewhat timely manner. He began demolishing the kitchen, hallway, and our bedroom, while at the same time digging a trench through the basement to add plumbing for a downstairs bathroom that's been framed in for awhile now. He's not finished, but we can at least see that parts of this project will be completed someday fairly soon. After two months of sleeping in the living room and finding our ways through a maze of clutter in the kitchen, we are in the painting stage! I'm excited, because painting is something that I can actually help with. (If he'll let me. Admittedly, I'm sloppy by nature.)
Anyway, he's done a great job and I'm proud of him. I thought I would post some pictures of the project as of today. Very soon I hope to be able to post the "After" pictures! The first picture is the basement bathroom, and that still has the most amount of work to be done.

Where's The Moose II

Our friend Sandy that travels all over the the world (lucky girl that she is) sent this to Teagan. I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing this is a shot from one of her many stays in Alaska. Sandy, feel free to confirm or deny! Thanks for the picture, it made me laugh. And Teagan will love it!

Funny Girl

A couple of funny things that I want to make sure get written down:

18 Months Old:

If she swats or smacks one of us, and we tell her "No, that hurts, be gentle", she rubs the spot that she hit and says "Ohhh".

She loves playing Yankee Doodle, and the rougher the better. She wants us to bounce, rock, swing, and then drop and catch her, and before the song's even over, she's pointing to her palm and saying "Mo!"

Last night I was reading a book with pictures of objects, and pointed to a page that had flowers on it. She grabbed the book and reached down to sniff it, since she knows that flowers are supposed to smell good.

Also last night, as we were winding down for bed, I was rocking her in the semi darkness but she wasn't very drowsy, so she was sitting up and facing me. She decided that she wanted to point to different features on my face so I would name them for her. She pointed to my eye, my forehead and my nose, and then before I knew what she was planning, she quickly stuck her finger straight up my nose and then cracked up. I admit, I laughed right along with her.

I've added a few new words to the top of her list on the right.

Movin' On

We received some bad news last week that we’re still trying to wrap our heads around. Our beloved pastor, Brian, has turned in his resignation and will be taking a new job in Ohio. While our small church has been struggling for some time, and we knew it was a possibility that Brian may eventually be called to seek work elsewhere, it was still quite a blow to receive this information.

Roger sought out this church because he knew of Brian and his music reviews in magazines and newspapers. They share a common love of music and that has been infused into our church over the years. When Rog and I started going to Christ Church UCC 10+ years ago, we were warmly embraced by Brian and his family, as well as the rest of the congregation. It was this welcome and the philosophy of the church and Brian’s teachings that kept us coming back. The idea of playing an active role in social justice and community service, as well as welcoming anyone, regardless of their gender, race, or sexual preference seems to me should be the common goal of all churches.

We were fortunate to have this many years with Brian. He is a mentor with an open heart and an open mind, an intelligent soul with passionate sermons, a leader that challenges common thought, and a friend that we care deeply about. Brian’s wife Susie, their son John, and Susie’s mother, Marian, have also become very dear to us. Their family has been there for us as we have gone through some difficult times and they were there to help us celebrate happier times.
Brian brought Roger and I together in marriage, their family helped us grieve when we lost our first pregnancy, they hosted a baby shower when Teagan was on her way, and they visited us in the hospital when she arrived in the world. We only wish she could grow up with them, but we realize that all good things must come to an end.
As we struggle through the process of confusion and sadness for our own loss, we wish only the best for the Newcombs. We doubt that their future congregation yet knows the gift that they are about to receive, but I know they will soon love the Newcomb family as we do.

The Incredible Shrinking Head

Teagan had her 18 month well visit yesterday. Of course, she was pretty sick over the weekend and we had to get her in on Monday since she had a persistent fever and was alarmingly listless. They couldn’t manage to combine the two appointments, so we had to spring for two separate co-pays, and two separate trips from Dogtown to Des Peres. Admittedly, I was a little miffed about that, mostly because her sickness was just a cold and they said we didn’t have to reschedule her well visit, which was the following day. The cold was what brought on the fever, and she has a lingering cough now but she’s acting a lot closer to normal.
Yesterday she weighed in at 22 lbs, 7 ¼ oz, (22%), she’s 31 ½ inches long, (44 %), and her head is 19 inches around, in the 91st percentile, down from the 97th percentile 3 months ago.
How much longer can Rog call her his Big Headed Buddha Belly Baby?

Where's the Moose?

Saturday afternoon Roger, Teagan and I found ourselves fairly far away from home and very hungry. We looked in our Entertainment Book and found a restaurant nearby. We'd eaten at this place once before but in the location closer to our house, and we liked it.
So, we decided to stop there for lunch. Once we walked in, we should have just turned around and walked out, but we didn't. I picked a table close to the door. Our server greeted us quickly and got drinks out while we looked over the menu. I guess because we had ordered the drinks at this point, we felt that we should stay through the meal. However, as we started looking around, we realized that this particular location would probably be considered more of a bar than a restaurant. Some of the clientele was a bit on the questionable side and there was no division between smoking and non smoking. To make a long story shorter, Rog ordered chicken which took about 30 minutes. It only took that long because the server got the order wrong. By the time it came out, Teagan was getting restless and we were ready to go, so he just ate what he got.
We did take one funny bit out with us. Halfway through the meal, Teagan looked up and pointed and smiled. Rog had noticed it when we sat down, but for some reason I had not noticed the massive moosehead mounted about 3 feet above our table. Throughout the rest of our time there, we'd ask her "Teagan, where's the moose?" and she would look up, point, and grin.
On the way home in the car, Rog turned around and asked "Teagan, where's the moose?", and she looked up and pointed, kind of looked confused for a second, and then smiled. That was our game throughout the weekend. By the end of the weekend, she would smile immediately like she was in on the joke, and then she'd look up. It's probably more fun for us than her, but she played along well.

The Difference Between Try and Triumph Is a Little Umph

Teagan drastically improved her climbing abilities this weekend. Apparently this opens a whole new world, because Rog and I spent the better part of yesterday keeping her off of the kitchen table. It started with just pulling up on the couch while we were visiting Grandma and Grandpa in Cape. Then she realized she could climb up into her booster seat when she was hungry. When we got home, she figured out that she could climb the kitchen chairs and get what she wanted off of the kitchen table.
I work at home on Mondays and Tuesdays, and I have Teagan at home with me on Mondays. I normally set up my workspace in the kitchen, and sometimes Teagan likes to sit on my lap and “type”. I quickly discovered yesterday that if I got up from my seat and turned my back for a minute, Teagan was standing up on my chair pounding on my keyboard. We must have said “Sit on your bottom” 100 times yesterday, as well as pulling her away from it, closing the chairs in a bedroom, and trying time out. We dealt with several tantrums. If I can say anything positive about the experience, it would be that the kid certainly has focus and determination.
The first video is from this weekend, when she was learning to pull herself up on the furniture. The second video is back at home, early on in the day, when it was still kind of funny and she wasn’t yet quite as quick and sneaky!