Exchange

Here is an exchange I witnessed in February (C age 13 months).

Greg: Chester, can you bring me the shoe horn?

Chester looks around. Grabs shoe horn. Brings it to Greg.

Greg: Oh good, thank you!

A delight

Sometimes Chester just does stuff, and Greg and I will both be watching him, giving each other that look that says, "Are you seeing what this kid is up to now?" Usually Chester is so involved that he fails to notice us both watching him. Then eventually he stops and looks at us both smiling and silently laughing at him. After one such episode the other day, when he finally looked over at me I said, "Oh Chester, you are a delight!" Then he promptly threw his head back and pointed at the light.

(He was stuck there and I just had to take a photo before rescuing him.)

Polish tradition

There is a photo in my baby book where I am standing at a table with an assortment of things spread in front of me. It is accompanied by a note written by my grandmother, explaining that it was a Polish tradition to have a baby choose from among a prayer book, rosary, thimble, wine glass, money, and bread on their first birthday. And the choice they make will predict their future. Prayer book means religious, priest. Rosary means religious, nun. Thimble means tailor, seamstress, sewer. Wine glass means wine maker, grape grower. Money means banker, wealthy. Bread means baker, wheat farmer.

My grandmother also noted that in Poland these were all honorable careers. Then she noted that my great uncle had his own version. Wine glass means drunkard; bread means fat & eating; money is to spend, not save; thimble means patching; and the book/beads were holy person, no fun!

On my first birthday, I chose, in this order:
1. Money
2. Prayer book
3. Thimble
4. Rosary
5. Bread
6. Wine glass

On Chester's first birthday, he chose, in this order:
1. Prayer book
2. Wine glass
3. Money
4. Rosary
5. Thimble
6. Bread

And then he ate the piece of bread.

Chester's first year

Chester is already one! Hipp hipp hurrah! Here are monthly photos from his birth until his first birthday!

perpetually summer

We saw a monarch butterfly yesterday. Apparently that means we are one week away from the first frost. Nevermind the fact that I saw a monarch three weeks ago…

We also bought some Sam Adams winter lager. Come on, Winter, we are ready for you!

I think this is the first year of my life that I have not needed a winter coat by October. It is definitely the first year when I am still wearing tank tops and sandals.

I am writing this in installments. Taking a couple minutes where I can get them. If you were thinking it sounded scattered, you were right.

For Halloween Chester dressed as...
Not a kitty (mamma's original choice)...
Not an ewok (papa's original choice)...
But...
Quailman!

I wasn't even sure if the effort to get or make a costume was worth it. I guess I'm not a big holiday celebrator. Plus it is way too warm here to wear either a kitty or ewok costume. Luckily for Chester we managed to think of a costume that was easy to do at the last minute, not too warm for Georgia, and, most importantly, awesome.

Everyone thought he was totally adorable. Approximately one person in the whole town knew what he was dressed as.

So that is what is going on here. I still don't cook or clean. Greg still works most hours of the day (including hours he ought to be sleeping). Our only goal for each day is to spend some time playing outside, which we usually accomplish. It keeps us from getting too overwhelmed at a time when life is just that.

Here is a photo compilation of some of Chester's antics lately.

The End. Good day my friends.

GA

And now we live in Georgia!

I wish I could say everything is just peachy. Plenty of positive things are happening, but they are riddled with negatives that cloud them out a bit. Maybe one day I'll be the kind of person who can focus on the positive and let the negative slide.

If you were a company, and you decided to cancel someone's order or appointment, would you inform them of that cancellation? I highly recommend that you would. We've now had three instances of Not being informed, and it is highly disappointing to figure it out yourself after the fact. 

Also, crickets keep coming in our apartment. Like, we killed ten in one day alone. 

But Chester is a charmer, and he makes friends everywhere we go. I like watching him in mayor mode. It is fun to see who he is quick to give smiles to, and who he is slow to give smiles to, and who he won't smile at at all. He also met a dog for the first time and didn't really seem interested or bothered.

He did so great on our long day of travel. The first flight, which was 9 hours, was kind of a beautiful breeze. When we arrived in Newark it was bedtime, and he was eating/sleeping in the Ergo the whole way through security and on a trolly ride that we were so generously offered. 

That was an ultimate positive, actually. I don't know how we got so lucky, but we managed to avoid a Very long walk. 

Another positive -- you don't need to take out computers or liquids or anything to go through security at Newark. Finally, we are getting a bit sensible about airport security. 

So perhaps the peachiness is coming, but it is just taking off slowly.

Sweden is begging me to stay

Or so I'd like to think(:

Evidence #1:
We moved into this furnished apartment in November. It also had a few plants. I diligently watered the orchid once a week, even though it was just green leaves. Recently it started to grow a new stalk that I assumed would be for flowers to grow on. Then buds started forming. And today the first bud is starting to open.

I had always thought orchids were very difficult plants to maintain, but this one is rewarding me big time. It is also reminding me that there is more to come if only I were to stay in Sweden.

Evidence #2:
I randomly met another mom the other day. Chester and I were sitting in the grass in a park, and he was watching another boy running around throwing a ball with his mom. There was also a little brother in a stroller. Eventually the little boy came running over to us and started throwing the ball to us, and then the mom actually talked to me (this is totally unprecedented in Sweden, where you never talk to strangers).

Totally awesome; however, this is not the time to be making new friends!