We love it here!!

At the grandparents' in Durham, that is... Dad and Mom, I love you! And the boys love you SO much! And we love living close enough that we can drive over and stay with you for a week! (Jim came for two days too but then left to go back to work, and we stayed through the full week.)

Best of all we got to meet our newest niece and cousin, Caitlin Mina Hawkins. And we introduced Hawk to her. They were born only five days apart. I was the last in the family (except Craig - oh, sorry!) to meet her. [I think that's a family record that everyone in the Hawkins family has met both new babies already this year.] She is so sweet and easy-going during the day, and getting stronger - it was amazing to see her chewing her toes and rolling around and reaching for toys.

It must be fall - because now the garden is a pine needle construction site.

Daddy Pete and his Caitlin

Hawk loved the swing on the deck

Mommy Rita and Caitlin, who is an amazing mix of the features of her parents

Lunchtime on the deck - and watching the neighbor's house being built

Thank you for sharing your toys all week, Caitlin

 One morning we explored a new park in Durham that has a "pump track" and an obstacle course for bikes in the forest. It was awesome!! The boys had a blast learning how to ride the 'rolls' and 'berms', and racing along the forest trail. Technically a pump track is supposed to be ridden without pedaling and instead by 'pumping' the bike up and down the rolls to create momentum. But since they had the course to themselves, they were able to ride and get used to it as they wanted. So Cool! Thank you Auntie Rachel for the recommendation.

Perhaps the biggest highlight of the week was riding the Duke bus from east campus to west campus (I think this becoming a tradition for every visit!), and meeting up with Grandpa in front of the chapel. But alas I didn't get any photos.

Another morning I took Timo and Mattias downtown for a quick playtime at Durham Central Park. Every time we come I am amazed to see how the skyline continues to change, with so much new construction and renovation going up. I even spotted a new vegan food truck/restaurant that I want to try out next time.

Say "cheese" for Daddy! ...oh well.

Thank you for a great week! It was just what we needed to be away from our normal routines and enjoy the time together.

On the way to school

Today was a lovely cool and foggy morning to walk/ride Timo to pre-K! Now that Timo is on his new, bigger bike (14" wheels), boy can he go fast. I definitely have to run to keep up - especially since our driveway and the first block is all downhill.

Little Hawk has just gotten big enough and steady enough with his head control that he can ride in the double stroller. I haven't used this stroller for almost a year since Mattias started using his balance bike. But of course now but Mattias wants to ride again so he can sit next to Hawk.

Here is the front of the Methodist Church. The day care and preschool are at the opposite/back side. We love being so close - and I'm starting to wonder about kindergarten next year and hope that we will live somewhere close and perhaps walkable to school, like all our Hawkins side cousins. Did I mention yet that we have to move out of this rental house in January? Ugh, another move coming up.

Can I hold him?

...actually Hawkins was smiling for most of the time that Mattias was holding him, but I couldn't capture it on my phone and in focus!

4 months old - and therapy update

Maybe I say this about all our babies - but, good gracious, this one is such a sweetie!!

He likes... smiling and 'talking' to people (very social baby); chewing on his fingers and trying to get his whole fist in his mouth; being held upright and looking out; watching and listening to his brothers; reaching to grab faces; reaching to grab books; reaching to grab toys - did I mention that he is reaching to grab and this is HUGELY good news for this boy! Using his hands to reach and grab things is one of his therapy goals, and he's surprised us all at how quickly he is learning. This month he also starting rolling over front-to-back.

We took a few pics when he turned 4 months old on Sep 3rd. He was still in his short casts at that point, and able to bend his knees and touch his legs for the first time. This week he got the casts off - the end of the Ponseti process! - and fitted for braces that he'll wear at night-time (to prevent regression). It is great to have his legs 'back'! We're surprised at how much his legs had grown in the casts - at today's check-up he was 5.1 kg or 11 lbs 3 oz, and 23.5". Still a skinny guy but now he's looking bigger and taller.

In the three days since getting his casts off, he's been sensitive about his feet and lower legs. Very stiff ankles and tight muscles & tendons. Also the foot shape is still a bit strange but such a difference from birth, and now he has arches!!! The right is a bit better than the left. The orthopedic showed me a couple of massages to do and I'm sure the therapist will help when she comes next week. Obviously we don't want them to regress so the stretches are really important because his tendons want to tighten up and pull back on the foot to where it was before. I read that the risk of regression is 30-50%, so it is possible he would have to do casts again if a foot starts to move. ...We don't really know long term what his feet will be like. We do know that he'll likely need these orthotic boots for a long time and potentially leg braces while learning to walk - depending on how his dislocated left hip recovers from eventual surgery. As with so many elements of arthrogryposis there is no real certainty of what the future holds, except we know it doesn't get worse as he ages, and so far he has improved well! We are hopeful, and very thankful for a cheerful little boy.

Gemma's 7th

It's your birthday today, Gemma. I can't quite say Happy Birthday because it doesn't feel like that at all. We're not 'celebrating' today. Not really. And we're not just 'remembering' or 'honoring'. When it comes to missing you in our lives, we don't have the vocabulary to describe how it feels.

But we don't want this day, September 1st, to tick by and slip through our fingers and move along without anything to set it apart. Some moments I want to line up glass jars and smash them all with a baseball bat, or I wish I had the strength to knock down a tree and make the branches crash and break as they roll down the hill. That doesn't feel like the way we want to mark this day, though! So I get out some streamers and ribbons and a few pink things, and put them at the table. All day the boys and I wear our bead necklaces. We talk about you at breakfast and during the day; once again Timo asks, "But when is Gemma coming back?" And later he tells Mattias, "Don't worry, Mattias, when we see Gemma we will both give her a hug."

It's rainy and chilly today so we have to stay inside, and the boys are going crazy with their energy and desire to use their muscles and run and jump, so I let them ride their bikes on the driveway in the rain. I think about how if you were here you would be old enough now that I could let you ride your bike down the driveway and get the mail out of the mailbox. And you could help me stir up the cupcake batter - and probably make the frosting by yourself without my help. While we wait for them to bake you could hold Hawk and read him a board book (really read the words by yourself! I know you would have loved to read!). Would you like a cup of tea and a rusk for a snack? Now the cupcakes are ready to be frosted, and Timo and Mattias decorate them with sprinkles. Stop eating so many, I say. But then I bite my tongue. This is for you and it looks so pretty no matter how many end up on the floor or eaten besides.

And now it feels a bit like "Happy Birthday", as we gobble down our cupcakes, and smile for a picture. 

We miss you.