one day old!!...

Her name is Finley Joyous Dreyer (and that's about the most beautiful name there is!!!)
8lbs80z 22 inches

Introducing...we don't know yet but SHE'S HERE!!!...

Born May 25, 2007 at 3:07 NY time!
I just can't wait any longer to tell all of you even though I don't know many of the particulars. Craig sent a picture of Cami and the baby nursing and that photo is a heart breaker, I tell you. Can't see much of the baby except for a bit of hair sorta brownish, reddish, blondish and sweet pink cheeks! For now the family is bonding behind closed doors and the cell phone is OFF! (good for them!)
So, I will have to get back to you about name, weight, length etc.
and...
..
Mac says, "hello little newie!"
and to snatch the final paragraph of one of our favorite books 'On the Day You Were Born'..."Welcome to the spinning world, the people sang, as they washed your new, tiny hands. Welcome to the green Earth, the people sang, as they wrapped your wet slippery body. And as they held you close they whispered into your open, curving ear, WE ARE SO GLAD YOU'VE COME!"

we are almost there...(what d'ya mean WE?!!)...

9cm, thinking it'll be time to PUSH ...
I'll keep you all posted!!

birth squad update...

6cm, walking around, feeling good, progressing...
matt asks, "how's it going?"
craig responds, "it takes at least 36 hours to birth the next woman president!"

we are on candle #6...

...we got a text message this morning from Craig saying they are starting it all up again after some rest. Their spirits are up...he used some military language like "Roger Wilco"to sign off...sounds like they are READY to BRING ON that BABY!!

anecdote to lighten the mood...

...so Mac says she likes this certain Pokemon named Hippo-something-or-other and tries a couple of names, trying to remember..."Hippo-cruel? Hippo-cron?
Hippo-crit?"
...and then she covers her mouth and looks at me with wide eyes.
"What?" I ask.
"Sorry, it just slipped out."
I couldn't figure out what she meant. "Do you think the word 'hypocrite' is a bad word or something?"
She says, "Yeah because I heard you saying it about Bush with Lauren and when you guys talk about Bush you say lots of bad words!".........

time to rest...

Cami and Craig are resting up tonight after a stalled labor...they will try pitocin once again in the morning...it's gonna be a long night...so sistas out there send out the good vibes to Cam!!

(I didn't paint this one, by the way, but I like it...I can't find the artists name..)

painting and waiting...

Latest update 12:00 noon...a text message from Craig saying that after the pitocin things are definitely moving along and getting more intense.

Favorite text message so far..."she's moaning in her sleep like a tibetan monk...she's so beautiful...I think I have aged 5 years in 5 days!"

Meanwhile I am painting with my head in another state, literally and figuratively!

tick...tick..tick....

last nights candle which lasted 18 hours!...



and this mornings refresher... with shrine intact...
Cami's water broke at 4 0'clock a.m. NY time and she is in early labor!! Craig sent Matt a great cell phone picture at 7:30 a.m. our time of Cami in a rocking chair on the porch of the birth center doing her thing...Craig's comment was that Cami is doing great but that he can't imagine "transition"...another papa word!!...He writes, "Cami is BRAVE!" Yesturday evening Craig sent a picture of them doing temporary tattoos on her belly HA!...
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So exciting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the colors of May...

When Matt and I were planning to get married we decided on May because we knew we would have a lot of out of town guests and they could come for the long Memorial Day weekend. But for me, the real reason was that all those people flying into San Diego could look out the window of the plane as they landed and see all the jacarandas in bloom. It always amazes me how this shade of lavendar can be so luminous.
I have had similar experiences in Kenya admiring the jacarandas in Nairobi...feeling very surprised how familiar such a far away place could seem.
And then of course there are the lilac bushes on the East Coast. Cami and Craig's wedding was also in May, 6 years ago. I remember cutting branch after branch from enormous lilac bushes on the side of the road to decorate their house for a party.
Anyway, great color, great month and now GREAT DAY....
we got a call from Cami and Craig and they will be going in to induce labor at 4:00 NY time. So, I am lighting the candle, also purple coincidentally...and thinking about NEW LIFE......

after school with the kids...

I realize this looks so orderly and idyllic...next they'll be doing dishes while they recite their multiplication tables, hahaha...
obviously the only reason I was able to take video at all was because it was one of those peaceful moments...
only a few minutes later they were quarreling over boundary lines and green fairy milk (really!)...
but how lovely it is hanging out with these kids ...mine and Carolines!

(by the way, I don't know if you ever have trouble viewing videos, if they are choppy, but it seems to work for me if I hold the mouse click down!)

fathers and their girls...

baby Mac (one month old) and her Papa

wish I had room for one of these...

...it's a bean teepee, looks like

there are some morning glories too...

another idea for next year!

Ribbit!

I found this BIG BOY in Hauser canyon.
No Bullfrogs were harmed in the making of this blog.

new musical obsession...m.ward...

great song, cool animation
and below, the band singing the same song on letterman...

the mystery of reading and writing in English...

Today I read a blog post from friend, Daleth, about her daughter, Bidane, learning to read. English is such a messed up language...so difficult to learn. I realize it more and more as I teach my kids to read, define different words, explain the wiggy rules. Morgan, the worlds best kindergarten teacher, has great techniques and methods of teaching our kids to read. One of them is best-guess-spelling which encourages them to write write write without worry! Here's one of my favorite examples.
Translation: "education shooter it shoots education right into your brain"
Of course what I also love about this is Emmett's attempt to make a gun acceptable to me. The variation of this is "it shoots out LOVE".
gotta love it!

Dad, we are thinking of you!...

On Mother's Day, my dad had a stroke. He's doing ok, staying in St Elizabeths in Lincoln, Ne. I have been talking to him everyday and he's improving. Keep him in your thoughts everyone! Send out some good energy!
Here is a picture of my dad, my brother and me. You can see the Emmett and Silas resemblance!
WE LOVE YOU DAD!

The Tooth!

Emmett's very first Tooth! After a serious incident involving Emmett's chin and Megan's head we were unsure if the newly loose baby tooth would ever come out or just continue to hurt and irritate Emmett...well tonight it came out! Hurray!

And what a tooth it is! We think Emmett is part shark!

just one of the reasons I love my mama...

...she helps me out so much with these babies, even when they spit at her during diaper changes!! (yes, you have to hold him down or it can be a messy situation!)
Happy Mother's Day!!

something for you to meditate on Cami!...look closely...

the miracle of life, agapanthus style...