the A/C is working...

the babies are sleeping, the ice maker healed itself, tomorrow we are off to Williams, Arizona, for a few days of cool weather and family time without many responsibilities (and I have packed plenty of dark chocolate and coffee). All is well!

P.S. Lots of fun pictures to come on Wednesday when we're back. (-:

105 degrees, no A/C?

Deep down in the Southwestern United States lives one dead air conditioner. Ours. Apparently the strain of the Arizona summer (which is not over, no matter what Equinox just occurred) was a death sentence this year. It went out yesterday afternoon and will not be replaced (yes, it died with flare, so it needs to have some key parts replaced) until tomorrow afternoon. Today was approximatey 105 degrees outside so it was also roughly 105 degrees inside. Or at least it felt like it. I'm sure we were pushing 95 at least. How does a family with two small babes survive Phoenix in the summer with no A/C? Let me count the ways we've tried to beat the heat:

* Pretend to be pioneers. Wonder just how people survived this kind of heat for the 6-month summers back in the olden days. Understand why the Arizona population is booming now, not, say 100 years ago.
* Pull your Verbena Refreshing Towelettes out of the fridge (a gift from Christina last summer...still some left...very handy). Wipe down kids' arms, legs, armpits, necks, feet.
* Give your baby several ice cubes to eat. Laugh as she tries to bite them with her gums and then figures out how to chip off small chunks with her front teeth. (Then hope no dentists read this blog.)
* Drink approximately 10 bottles of water, with lots of ice.
* Strip kids down to diapers; pour ice water on the baby's head. brrr.
* Take cold showers.
* Snack on frozen chocolate chips. As John says, "num num!"
* Turn on every fan and hope that blowing hot air around will somehow make it cool.
* And when all else fails, leave the house! We had lunch with John and Marissa Ross while the kids played at Elise's house; we went to the library; we tried not to think about sleeping in a sauna.
* Discover ice maker is no longer working. What?!? Oh man, I can tell that our property manager is going to be excited to hear from me again after footing the bill for a new A/C motor! Then consider using old fashioned ice trays (currently used in our house for the all important game of lima and pinto bean sorting--which is VERY EXCITING around here).
* Thank God that Autumn will come...soon...we hope....

Hope your day was lovely and a bit cooler than ours!

Hello, my name is Havilah

...and I'm learning how to walk. Can you tell?



So the picture doesn't do justice to her battle wounds, but she is looking mighty toddlerish these days. The funny thing was that when I pulled out the camera, she started smiling and giggling because she knew I was taking her picture.

Um, yes, those are corn puffs stuck in the back of her pants. I'm not sure how she managed to pull that off!

tomorrow I'll be more interesting...

...but tonight, since I haven't blogged in too long, I'll share a couple of facts I just found on Mike Hamel's blog:

* Seventeen hours of sustained wakefulness leads to a decrease in performance equivalent to a blood alcohol-level of 0.05%.

* A new baby typically results in 400-750 hours lost sleep for parents in the first year.

Since I have just made it through the first year of a new baby, I am approximately 500 hours behind on my sleep. And since I always stay up 17 hours+, then by late each night when I start my SCI work, I'm nearly "drunk." ha ha ha!

Actually, Havilah is sleeping very well these days. She's in her crib now (in our room, since her room is really more of a guest room) and sleeping about 11-12 hours straight every night. The best part is that John and Havilah go to bed at the same time of the evening now (about 7 p.m.) so I have an evening. Without kids. Without nursing. To work. (Or blog.) So I can't blame Hava if I'm sleep deprived.

Tomorrow I'll post a picture of Havilah's face. Tonight I told her "If anyone asks, just say you fell down the stairs. Got it?" You'll see why tomorrow. Ah yes, adventures in learning how to walk!

stinking cute

The CD from Patrick came today. I'm so pleased with how he caught their personalities on camera and so captured this moment in our lives for the future. I'm a proud mama!

portraits

While we were in Portland, I had the talented Patrick Wilson take photos of the kids. Havilah wasn't so sure about Patrick, seeing as he is a man. But John was really cooperating for the camera. The first few pictures are on his flickr page...I'll post more when my CD comes in the mail next week. How fun! (-:

Happy (belated) 3rd Birthday John!

Three years ago...

...John, you were a tiny bean of a newborn. You were such a sweet baby and loved for us to hold you, sing to you, and read to you.

Now you are a big boy, three years old and already in preschool. You are good at anything athletic, love music, have a long attention span for books, enjoy other people immensely, have a healthy appetite, and want to please your parents. We are so proud of you!

***

John (and Havilah) had a birthday party at Mimi and Papa's house on Saturday afternoon (yes, the kids and I were in Portland for a couple days for Christina's wedding!). My parents and Ben and Anna were there and Auntie Katie came too.

Last night I told John "this year is going to be a big year for you buddy. When we're having your birthday cake next year, so much will have changed." I am so excited to see all that God has in store for John over the next year!

Happy birthday John Willis; we love you!