Happy Camper

Cora started camp this week, so summer vacation is officially in full swing. She is beyond happy.

Caterpillar leaf

Caterpillar leaf, originally uploaded by Wingates.

Cora discovered this leaf while exploring the hillside in Gma and Gdad's back yard. A group of little caterpillar type worms had systematically eaten their way through the chlorophyll surface of the leaf, leaving a swath of bare scaffolding in their wake.

School is out now, and both kids are home for a week or two before Cora starts the first of her three summer camps. Life has been eventful already, as it always is with two kids on the loose.

Yesterday morning Kate made some toast and then walked out of the kitchen for a minute. A few moments later she heard Oliver howling in pain in the kitchen. She found Oliver on the floor, clutching his hand, and a rock in the toaster. Our toaster is on a scaffold type shelf, and he just got strong enough to scale it. He got a pretty nasty burn on his hand, but it will heal in no time. And I'm sure he won't toast any more rocks.

Cora's Treasures

2007_0528_175906AA, originally uploaded by Wingates.

Cora's thoughts on marriage

Cora, this morning as I was brushing her hair before school:
"Mommy, can I live with you forever?"
Me:
"Of course you can."
Cora:
"I never want to get married."
Me:
"That's fine -- you don't have te get married if you don't want to."
Cora:
"Maybe I'd marry Ben (her best buddy of 3 years), but he's going to marry Mohini. I'll make him marry me, that fudgeball."

And so it goes...

Father and Son

2007_0513_140339AA, originally uploaded by Wingates.

Pictures with Daddy are pretty rare because I'm usually the one behind the camera. Figured it was worth documenting.

This flurry of posts comes from the Mothers Day Peace Parade, which Kate helped organize last year(and this year too) as the local outreach of a national organization called Mothers Acting Up(MAU). It grew out of an idea that she had, or maybe just an urge, to get more involved in the community and speak up for what she believes in.

Over the last year it has been beautiful to see the group of wonderful people that have joined the movement here. Soon after hatching the idea last year,Kate met Paige LaGrone Babcock, another local mom who has become a close friend and the heart of the Nashville MAU engine that makes things happen. It has been amazing to watch a community sprout around a wish, and it continues to evolve. Go Mamas!

Be sure to click on the picture, as there about 120 photos or so from the parade. Enjoy!

How cute is this!?!

2007_0513_135906AA, originally uploaded by Wingates.

Mothers Day Parade

2007_0513_130249AA, originally uploaded by Wingates.

Cora didn't break her foot.

Last week we were at her gymnastics class and her teacher invited her to switch to a more advanced group. Cora was delighted. The new class is 90 minutes instead of 45, and she will learn more advanced techniques and "real" gymnastic moves. She went to her first class Thursday and did great. She balanced upside down on the balance beam (with her teacher's assistance), did back bends and all kinds of fun stuff. She has really taken to gymnastics and seems really excited about the prospect of learning more. She's a natural out there on the mat.

Oliver is a full blown two year old. When he's happy he's still the sweetest boy on Earth. But as soon as he thinks of something he wants he starts whining like it has already been denied him.

Cora and Oliver have already been fighting like cats and dogs this morning. Kate has memories of Cousins Kim and Rusty fighting each other in a blur of arms and hair. We're headed that way. So far no physical assaults, but lots of perceived injustice. Everything has to be fair!

Spring update

Okay, it's been a looong time since we really updated the blog. As several of you have mentioned to us, it's not Christmas Eve anymore. In fact, it's not winter anymore. In our house, that's a great thing!

Winter got really oppressive here and we just didn't have the energy to write posts or the words to put our experiences into digestinble bits. We had a bit of everything going on--sicknesses, struggles, bone chilling weather. Thankfully spring is here and things are lightening up.

In fact, both kids have diarrhea and Cora might have broken her foot today. Kate ended the day wearing Oliver's poop on her shirt. Me? It looks like I'm the one who passed on the diarrhea to the kids, having been in bed for the last couple days.

Really, things are lightening up!

We'll write more soon. Promise!

It's not Christmas anymore!

the night before christmas

the night before christmas, originally uploaded by Wingates.

We posted some photos on Flickr....check 'em out. More coming soon!

Christmas Time

Here are a couple Christmas videos of the kids, courtesy of Sarah. Pictures coming soon and some words too...

We love you Uncle Dan!

We love you Uncle Dan!, originally uploaded by Wingates.

Kate's new 'do

new do 2, originally uploaded by Wingates.

Oliver plays the fiddle

When I was a kid I took violin lessons for a while. I must have been five or six, and I had a child sized violin. I moved on from the violin, but my parents tucked it away in a closet, probably knowing that a grandchild would pick it up someday. Well,Oliver craves music. He asks for fiddle music most mornings soon after he wakes up. When we visit Gma and Gdad's house he wants to be up close and personal with the instruments. So a week ago he got a chance to play the fiddle himself. He was ready--he played "all by self" and even threw in some dancing. Check it out:

un.....doo......free......

Oliver is now talking up a storm. No full sentences yet--although he did say "Jeffrey monkey says hoo hoo ha ha" yesterday to Kate--but tons of single words and a lot of two word combinations. He has always been able to get his point across pretty well even without the aid of extremely early verbal development that Cora enjoyed. We still have to translate most of his words when he's asking for something, but more often than not we figure out what he's talking about.

Numbers seem to fascinate him--last week in the car he counted to ten out of the blue. He had never counted past two before, and then suddenly, unprompted, he singsonged his way all the way to eleven. He won't do it on demand, only when he feels like it. If I ask him to count, he just says "no" with a little shake of the head. Two nights ago he was counting in his sleep.

Christmas Tree time

Introducing "Guava", our Christmas tree this year. It was 70 degrees outside and we decorated the tree with all the windows open. Very surreal.

The Haircut

Before (above)....
During......
After!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! It's 7:30am and the house has been in full swing for some time now. Oliver and Cora are reading together and only fighting occasionally. We're getting to that stage where it pays to have two of everything. When one kid has something, the other one wants it, no matter what it is. We've talked a lot about sharing and not grabbing, and I expect it will be a theme for some time to come.

Some things we are thankful for today:

Kate was admitted to Belmont University to complete her Undergraduate degree. She'll start classes in the new year.

Oliver is getting his hair cut today. Aunt Sarah is bringing her scissors to Thanksgiving dinner and he will be sheared before, after, or during our feast. We have enjoyed every minute of his sun drenched locks, and until now they seemed too beautiful to cut. But just last week he crossed that mysterious line when you just know it's time for a haircut. We'll take some before and after pictures for posterity.

We're also thankful for our family and friends who have supported us as a family for the last six years. When Kate and I found out she was pregnant, we were living in a very different world. Ensconced in the buffered environment of Omega, still young and exploring possibilities for ourselves, having children was the last thing we expected to be doing within the next year. Other than Phyllis, our ninety year old friend at Omega who insisted a baby was on the way (and who is honored by Cora's middle name), no one else expected it either. Phyllis was right about the baby, and she was right about another thing too.

Phyllis insisted that this child would bring our families together. I still remember how stunned Kate and I were after breaking the news to our families to receive the instant support, love and acceptance that has never wavered to this day.

Kate and I often talk to each other about how lucky our kids are to have such a loving network of family and friends. They have both grown up in a web of grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins and friends that love them to pieces. And sometimes, when we emerge briefly from the thrill ride that is parenting, we let it soak in that this love surrounds us too. And we are very, very thankful.

Pictures

We're having trouble posting a photo from Flickr at the moment, click "Online Wingate Photo Album" to see some pics from the trip...