sawyer is WALKING. 10 1/2 months old. 3 steps on monday...5 steps (consistently) today.

God help us all.

[link(pics/july_05/hp_rowan.jpg)][thumb]pics/july_05/hp_rowan.jpg[/thumb][/link] So...the latest book in the Harry Potter series was released at 12:00 a.m today. It seems that every blog out there is reporting on the book. So I didn't want to be left out...

I took the boys to Barnes and Noble this morning. I thought I'd be hard pressed to find myself a copy since I never reserved a copy, nor am I a member of Barnes and Noble. But there was a huge stack of them upon entering the store, so I grabbed a copy and threw it in the stroller and continued walking with Rowan and Sawyer into the kids section. Rowan played around on the train table for a while and touched every book that was at eye level to him. After 45 minutes of that, we headed up to the counter to purchse my new book. Hardback and everything.

I think there really is some kind of magic to Harry Potter. There have been at least a dozen books that I've wanted to buy over the past few years, and I even hold onto them as I walk through a bookstore every six months or so, with the intention of buying them. But I never buy them. I figure (A) I can probably borrow it from my mom, who has the same taste in books as me (hi, mom!), or (B) borrow it from the library eventually. Not so with Harry Potter. I didn't even think once about how I could borrow it from the library or my mom (she doesn't really like the HP series any way). I needed to have my very own copy. And not just my very own copy, but the HARDBACK version to add to my collection. Because some day, I will read these books to my kids

As we left, I noticed that my bag had a HP poster in it...but better yet, a huge pair of plastic HarryPotterstyle "glasses." Rowan loved those.

Perhaps I'm the only one blogging about just having bought the book. I believe that a good 80% of those who've bought the book have already read it. I'll get around to reading it after I've read the other three books on my bedside table that I'm eager to read (and that I'm borrowing from someone, no doubt).

it's on days like today that i need to remind myself that time is flying by so quickly.

we're sitting on the living room floor - the boys and i - and it took me a good 15 minutes to get up because rowan didn't want me to leave the room (all i needed was a glass of water a few feet away in the kitchen). i'd position myself to get up on a knee, and he'd climb right up on my leg and hunker down on it.

sawyer is learning to walk. he's also learning to crawl. he's doing the whole "three-legged" crawl right now, with splashes of a normal crawl every now and then. but if i'm sitting on the floor, he shuffles his way up to me and pulls himself up to a stand and then proudly stands there bouncing up and down with such enthusiasm of his new accomplishment. he was on my other side.

so i sat on the floor for a good 15 minutes, slightly annoyed, with my two boys keeping me grounded (unintentional "pun"), and i just decided to give up trying to get up. because in as little as 5 years (or less!), they won't think i'm the coolest person in the world (next to daddy, of course). they'll probably be running from me so fast to meet up with their friends at school and forget to kiss or hug me goodbye. i shudder at the thought.

but that's normal. and it's normal that they're hanging onto me for dear life now. so i'm learning to enjoy being stuck to the living room floor like a stack of paper under two paper weights. besides, it's fun being the coolest person in the world. ;)

The boys are usually in bed between 7:30 and 8:00 every night. Since naptime is short, and usually takes place only in the car on weekdays, 8:00-10:30 becomes sacred, quiet, and alone time for Kenny and I to do what normal people do during the day.

Like laundry (Kenny did two loads of laundry last night). And reading. And surfing the internet. And getting dinner ready for the next day. Or cleaning and organizing drawers, closets, the basement. Or weeding.

But we're not that organized. Except for Kenny doing our laundry last night, we sat and watched mindless reality television. I stress the word "mindless" for an obvious reason. It's hard for me to admit to the blog-reading world that we watch reality television at times. But what are our choices during the summer? The only program that we watched this winter and spring was "LOST" and it's all reruns until the fall. The only choice we had was to watch reality television or Cornerstone Television. I'll save a rant on Cornerstone for another post.

But here's my rant on reality television: It has sucked the creativity out of everyone. Everyone who produces, directs, and participates in reality t.v., and everyone who watches it. That's, unfortunately, a lot of people in this country and others. As I mentioned, we like to watch "LOST," and I was having a conversation with a friend of mine about a particular episode. She is an artist, so she responds to it in lovely, abstract ways. Here was her observation on a particular episode:

Did you see Lost this week? I thought it was one of the best episodes. All of their
camera work is so beautiful. I loved how the old fisherman-dad was the wisest of all and
so full of grace for his son; he was sort of God-like. I also loved the shot of Sun letting her
cover-up fall to the sand as if she was shedding her old life.

I saw the very same episode and didn't get any of that. The artistic camera work that she describes blew right over my head. I blame reality television. Or being pregnant recently...but I'd really prefer to blame abominations like, "The Average Joe" or "The Apprentice" for sucking all my creativity out of me. I guess I'm waiting for the next big island blowup between Jack and Sawyer, or a "Survivor"-like competion with tiki torches and a Hollywood-style jungle gym that I forget to really feel the story and watch for beautiful symbols that are meant to evoke an emotion in us. Or at least a reaction as basic as, "Isn't that a pretty sunset?" Nope. I want the character looking at the sunset to back-stab her new friend for position to "win." Because that is what reality television is all about, isn't it? Backstabbing to win. Lying to get ahead.

In college, we'd spend time at parties talking about plays, poems, and short stories that we'd read recently, and music that we've heard. I remember going through a Tori Amos song lyric by lyric over coffee with a friend of mine. You can't really dig deep into songs like the theme for "The Apprentice" which goes something like this: "Money, Money, Money, Money....Money...Money, Money, Money, Money....Money." Original, isn't it?

So we're making some changes around here and using our kids-are-sleeping time for creative projects such as designing and building a quilt. Scrapbooking (not my favorite thing to do, but I'm open) and painting with watercolors.

Or we could just quit watching reality television. Or go back to picking on Cornerstone television.

it's been 2 years/24 months/730 days since the day that you were born. it's fairly unfathomable to your dad and I that you aren't the tiny 7 pound, 4 oz, 20 inch-long infant that we brought home all those days, months, and years ago. and you're hardly a toddler anymore. you walk without toddling. you run with determination and confidence. you learn new words every day, and love to show off to daddy and i how you can hug and kiss sawyer. you're a fantastic big brother, a strong and curious boy, and a joy to call our son. we love you!!!

[I]"I sing for joy at the work of [God's] hands."[/I]

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Rowan birth (hospital cap and blankets)
Rowan one year (with our neighbor friends)
Rowan two years (growing his flower garden)

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