Yeah, believe it. She's THAT cute.

Nothing New...

Though I know Tory would never go for it, I've always thought it'd be incredible to name a little boy SEVEN. Seven Schwope. I think it's got a great ring to it.

I was just watching Seinfeld (catching up on the last 20 years of great tv that I missed), and George Costanza wanted to name his child Seven! What?!? So much for original thought. I thought I was a genius.

Same thing happened to me about 3 months ago when I heard on npr that a musician titled his album The Shaming of the True. Which, ask my sister Em, was my idea like 5 years ago.

I swear, I'm being spied on.

Get a Grip!

Look what we can do now!

I've given you pretty much only happy pictures of Hazel so far. Thought I'd round out your view of her a bit... She's just the Second-Happiest Baby on the Block.

Me

The blog lately has been pretty much 100% Hazel. And it got me wondering whether I'll end up one of those moms who loses her identity because she's so wrapped up in her child's. I'm not sure...at this point I think it could go either way; I think more & more that it's just hard to predict how I will react to situations I've never been in before. Especially mom situations.

But I'm trying to stay away from mom topics in this blog entry...

So . . . um. ...yeah... It's pretty hard to switch gears & not talk about ANY mom things. But I'll try.

I have an Old Navy card. For those of you in the family, you know that this card is good at Gap, ON, Banana Republic, and Piper Lime. For every $100 I spend, I receive a $10 gift card in the mail. I also receive lots of great coupons. I have discovered something wonderful recently. I found out that I can redeem these online AND at the store. It's a flaw in the system! Super sneaky!!!

- - -

I'd like to come out to the world now; I'm tired of living a lie. I am NOT a good housekeeper. And if you have an idea in your mind of what a bad housekeeper is, think of a worse one and that's probably more like me. In my opinion, the majority of my friends have immaculate homes. I would eat off their floors. (Well, really, I would eat off my own floor, but that's just because my threshold for grossness is higher than most -- thus, my bad housekeeping.) I try to pretend by picking up before people get here, but I know the really good housekeepers can see through it.

I realize that it's all relative. There are some out there that would consider me a good housekeeper. And in my own defense, 90% of the mess and grime is not my own. My husband is dirty & hairy. I should call him Dirty Harry. The dogs are also dirty & hairy. The cat has on his winter coat and leaves the evidence wherever he wants. And then there is the house itself, which is my nemesis.

The house is bad because it is old, and because there isn't a person who takes responsibility for its annual maintenance. (There's only so much I can do...) So there are holes from old age, and holes from woodpeckers -- invitations for squatters galore. Some previously loathed visitors include mice, chipmunks, squirrels & raccoons -- yes, all in my home. And now that it's cold I wonder if they'll be back.

But by far my least favorite are the Camel Crickets. Also known as Cellar Crickets, they love the humidity of basements and have formed a colony in our crawl space, which is adjacent to our basement in this split-level home. These boogers are creepy. They look more like grasshoppers, and they can jump as high as your head. Makes them really hard to kill. The creepiest thing about them is that they are always, always facing you. You never see one from the side or the back, you only ever see them from the front. When I do have the luck of getting one with the broom, the pleasure is almost... well, I'll keep this g-rated. It's quite a release because I have such a deep hatred for them.

The switch for our kitchen light has been out since we brought Hazel home from the hospital. I wish it would get fixed.

All of this & more gets under my skin & goes to my core. I wish I had a sweet maid named Mary or Bess or Helga that would just love on me and help me keep things neat. Even though tidyness is not the most important thing in the world to me, it would be quite a luxury. Helga is my Christmas wish to Santa. It would be so wonderful, so dreamy. But I suppose for now, my dust-free clutter-free bug-free home will have to stay in fictionland with Helga and Santa. Back to reality & my baby who just woke up...

The FIRst Tree

It was wonderful -- We went & got a Christmas tree yesterday! I still have yet to find an extra minute to decorate it, but the experience was priceless.

Thanksgiving with the Tummons Family

This is, as dear-ol-dad would say, "The Whole Fam-Damily"
Suz, Solomon, Emily, & Hazel

Great Aunt Pat & Hazel

Me & Hazel, the way we spend 25% of our lives right now

In the dress her Gramma Jane got her

Daddy & Hazel (check out the boots!)

Hazel Jane with her turkey-tee

One Month Old!

Here are a few pics taken on Hazel's one month birthday (Nov. 17th).

If you've never met my husband, here's a spot-on likeness (above). She looks like him quite a bit with her face relaxed, but when she starts yawning or grimacing you'd better watch out -- the likeness gets pretty freaky. Although, I will say that she is looking more & more like my baby pictures.

The first month flew by. I remember my newly-momed sister saying a few months ago, "the days are long, but the years are short" and I can certainly see after just a month how true that statement may become. Seems like just yesterday she was in my belly, though it seemed like she was in there for years.

She's grown from 7lbs 2oz to 9lbs 8oz, which is still smaller than the 9lbs 12oz I was when I was born. People still stop me and comment on how small she is, but she seems huge to me now. I've already had to put some outfits away because she's outgrown them. She's a wiry little booger and moves when gusto when she wants to. Her neck is pretty strong already.

The first month included her first real smile, sucking her thumb, her first trip out of town, her first cold, and many other firsts. My favorite sound she makes is when she inhales like she's going to sneeze, but then doesn't, and exhales with the sweetest little sigh-song you've ever heard. Most of the time when she smiles, she only does a coy half-smile bit, but every once in awhile her whole face will explode into a huge grin.

I've heard some babies aren't much on cuddling, but this one is a die-hard cuddle bug. She loves to be close & warm. Baths are getting more & more efficient, and as long as I keep her from getting cold she's happy. Loves it best when I get the shower head going really warm & just make it rain on her. We're getting into somewhat of a routine, but it's easily derailed by errands or bouts of serious gas.

She's started "playing" more -- looking at toys or her mobile. She's becoming a pro at tummy-time & sitting up in her bumbo chair. She loves to just look around at things, so we walk through the house & look, and I wear her when I cook dinner so she can watch. There is a mirror right by her changing pad, and she loves to look at herself when I change her. It's taken me a few weeks to even start figuring out her different cries, but I think I've started understanding them more.

I feel like I should have gone to school for this -- like every mom should have to go through a course before conceiving. Seems like there is so much to know, and a lot of times I feel very underqualified about the technical stuff. But I do know one thing -- I love her the most & she loves me the most. And that's a wonderful, wonderful feeling.

Online at last

.....aaaaand, I'm back.

Sorry for any of you viewers who were actually looking for some blurbs from me or some pics of Hazel -- we've been without internet for a few weeks now. But Tory just brought home a Verizon card to replace our Sprint one, so hopefully we'll be better than ever now!

More to come soon....

New Toys!

It appears that vision has progressed from a mere 8-12" to a bit more. I had been noticing how Hazel was starting to get the hang of tracking things, and she had started keeping her eyes open for longer periods at a time. And then I realized -- I didn't really have anything for her to look at! I had one toy, a mirror with stripes & patterns around it, that she loved, but that was pretty much it. I had pretty much maxed out on every baby-stuff category, except for toys.

So off we headed to Babies 'R Us with a great giftcard from one of Tory's drivers, Dwight. (Thank you Dwight!)

First on the list was a mobile. Not one of those ones that adults like, or one that matches the room -- an obnoxious looking one that she will really enjoy. We also got 4 other small toys, that's not too many, right? My favorite is a handpuppet that has a different farm animal on every finger. It's to use as a prop while singing Old MacDonald Had a Farm. I think that is going to be super fun, but I'm just cheesy like that. Hopefully Hazel got my cheesy gene & we can enjoy that stuff together.

Pretty Small Girl on a Pretty Fall Day

note the cute smile, killer curls, and ... middle finger

Weston Bend State Park

Yesterday (Sunday) we decided to head up to Weston Bend State Park. For those of you that haven't been there, and that live in KC, you MUST go! It's just wonderful this time of year. It's about a 45 minute drive north of the city, and well worth it. The weekend before Hazel came, we made it up to Weston Red Barn Farm, which is also a delectable place. Usually we hike the beautiful bluff trail, but this time we kept it simple with the river trail since we had Hazel. We got to break in her new stroller though, the Bob, and boy... that's a nice piece of equipment! She loves it.
We got a little too far away from the car, though, and it was time to eat. No benches or privacy or anything, so I just had to sit on the side of the trail and nurse her. Would have been just fine, except there were ladybugs everywhere so I was busy trying to keep us from getting buggered. This is me puzzled & trying to figure out how I'm going to make it work...

Two years ago, around this same time (the last weekend in October), we took a trip up to WBSP. It was a fun camping weekend for us, that ended in Tory asking me to marry him on his childhood walnut tree farm in Oak Grove, MO. While I do love our little Hazelnut companion we took this time, I can't help but also remember another anniversary and miss our Chocolate companion as well.

Last year, also on the last weekend in October, we suddenly & unexpectedly lost our dog (and my heart) Charlie. He was just the absolute best, and I still miss him deeply. I wish that he would have gotten to meet Hazel, and that Hazel would have gotten to grow up with him. And selfishly, I just miss him for myself as well. He always knew me unlike anyone (thing) else. He is buried at the Oak Grove farm, not far from where Tory proposed.

Bathtime

So far Hazel has had 3 baths. Fortunately, I'm way more talented at bathing myself than I am at bathing her, so I've had at least a few more than 3 in the past two weeks. But I won't say exactly how many.....

Our first bath was in a special baby bathing tub in the bathroom upstairs. Not so successful. Babies should come with a sign when they're born -- "VERY slippery when wet". I mean, I guess it was successful -- she got clean. But my back & my nerves said otherwise.

So the subsequent attempts have been the old fashioned way -- on a towell on the kitchen counter. MUCH better! Yes, she's making some unhappy faces, but they didn't last for long. For the most part, she was very okay with being bathed, and so was I.

Tomorrow is going to be our 4th. It was going to be today, but we just weren't up for it after our big day yesterday. I mean, how dirty can a baby get anyway? Her hair & face & rear do get washed multiple times per day. The face & rear for obvious reasons. The hair because otherwise it starts to look like Dapper Dan got ahold of it. Also because when I get it wet it curls up, and I love that!

Happy Teeny Halloweeny

Here we are at 2 weeks old on Halloween. Hazel is celebrating with pumpkin-esque diapers, spooky smells, and some midnight howling...

She's Here!

Hazel Jane Schwope

October 17, 2008

4:00 pm

7lbs 2 oz, 19"

psst...

Hey, we got a new camera. And I met a butterfly. And then introduced the camera to the butterfly. Welcome, everyone.

Thank you, Diana & Lin!

I recently received a suh-weet gift from my aunt & cousin in New York City. Included was this shirt. Obviously, it's not quite meant for the 9th month, but I LOVE what it says! At first I didn't even see the planet, didn't realize it was an earthy shirt. I just thought it was a great proclamation of authority. Now I realize that it's not quite as literal as I first interpreted, but I still may choose to read it that way. Great choice, Diana. Great choice, Lin. I love it.

Benefit for TLC

Some friends treated us & took us as guests to the annual fundraiser for TLC, an organization in KC that works with troubled kids & kids in foster care. I found out about this about 30 minutes before it started -- sweet! We were late, but it was fun. They raised a ton of money. I was so happy to see the free food as I have really hated cooking lately.

I got several compliments on my dress. I suppose they came out of the hypnosis that the concave pattern seemed to cause folks. It's one of those dresses I bought about 2 years ago thinking, "this would be really comfortable, especially if I were pregnant." Sure enough -- I was right. Only downside is that it really had to be worn with heels, which are never remotely comfortable while pregnant. At least not this late in the game.

Funniest moment of the night was when the stranger across the table started making small talk and asked me, "Do you know what you're having?" Tory reached & put his hand on my belly and responded, "We're having a basketball, can't you tell?" This was really funny for a few reasons. First was the obvious nature of the joke, yes, my belly looks quite like a basketball sometimes. Second was the fact that Tory does not make small talk, especially with people he does not know & will most likely never see again. Third was that he does not touch my belly in public (which I appreciate). All this summed to quite a funny moment, almost enough for me to accidentally wet myself. Almost.

Meet Daisy

Tory really, really wanted a dog. A big dog. A dog to go to the farm with him everyday. While Nelson would love to step in and fill these shoes (paws), his terrier physique just doesn't do anything for Tory's lumberjack image. So Tory let Velda have another litter of puppies and brought one home a week or so ago.



Much to my amazement, he named her DAISY. To my further amazement, she's actually a pretty good dog and I kind of enjoy having her around. Here is a pic of us when I went out to the farm to meet her for the first time.


The funny thing is, in the morning when Tory is getting ready to go, Nelson won't leave his side. When he starts to put his boots on, Nelson starts running in circles. You can see the hope in his eyes -- "Please take me, please take me, please take me!" He loves going to the farm. And Daisy will find me and sit at my feet or follow me around, not wanting to leave. So then we have to separate & carry them to their respective places of employment: Nelson to the house, Daisy to the farm. Nelson has been spending everyday since Daisy came home in a sulk -- just waiting for the rest of the family to get home. Sadistic as it is, I find it hilarious.

Masonic Stumper

The JB Big Band had a gig Sept. 20 in Columbia. The Masons (the Truman Club to be specific) invited us for the 3rd year in a row to play for their awards banquet. These folks are great -- they get super dressed up, seem very happy to be together, get a kick out of honoring each other -- AND they drink and dance, which usually means the most to me. The best audiences seem to always include those two activities.

It has taken me 3 years to finally figure out this phrase they always say in their awards presentations. I suppose I could have looked it up long ago, but I wasn't quite that intrigued. They use a title before each other's names that sounds like "Orsheln" or "Michelin", I just thought it was some weird ancient secret language I wasn't supposed to understand. And maybe they would even have me killed if I asked. I mean, they are all very nice, but I've watched the history channel specials on the Masons -- you don't mess around.

But I did figure it out this year. It is Right Worshipful Brother. What a mouthful -- say it fast and all together. Fun. Just take your gum out first, I don't want you to accidentally choke & die.

Here is a pic of me after the gig:

Like Mother, Like Father

32 Weeks!

Here we are approaching D-Day, and even after the past 31 weeks, I still have a hard time believing it's all actually happening. All the new gifts & gear contribute to the excitement for sure, but there are also some definite nerves involved. Not sure if there's more apprehension about the delivery, being a mom, or any potential changes in our marriage. But I'm just trusting natural instinct and hopefully any intuition my parents gave me to help us get by.

Smiling in pictures is pretty embarrassing -- you wouldn't believe how small my eyes get & how big my cheeks get. So we'll probably have to make do with the closed-mouth grin from here on out. I think laughter should be safe again after about 5 or 6 weeks post-birth.

Don't have too many problems with the ankles that seem to terrorize others (thank you, Mom for the good genes!), but you should see my hands sometimes! My veins pop so far out of my skin (about 1/8-1/4") that I look like I belong in a nursing home.

The chilly spell is wonderful. This is when I just can't get enough of the outside air. So I've started walking everyday, which is rejeuvinating for me and thrilling for Nelson. But it also sure makes me miss Charlie.

I've gotten most of the gifts from the shower put away, and am now working on just making sure everything is organized intelligently. Also have ordered many kids cd's and am getting those loaded on my ipod. I had to spend quite a bit of time listening to stuff to find non-cheesy non-electronic lullabies. Why James Taylor, Jack Johnson, and Sarah McLachlan don't have a lullaby cd is something I'll never understand.

Tory & I have a class this Saturday to hopefully educate ourselves so we have half an idea of what goes on during labor. Will give a full report afterwards. For now, I'm off to cataloging baby gear manuals.

Onesies!

I've kept my fingers busy lately! I got a random inspiration to embroider onesies. I thought it would be a simple trip to Hobby Lobby or Michael's for patterns to get started, but boy was I wrong. The only thing I could find in town was old-fashioned pictures of lighthouses, eagles, or praying hands -- not the sugar & spice & everything nice I was hoping for.

Then I looked online awhile and found this great little shop down in Austin, TX, "Sublime Stitching." Thier tagline is Not your Grandmas embroidery! so I knew it had to be good. I ordered some patterns and got started. This is what I've completed so far. Haven't decided on a favorite yet -- I love them all!

26 Weeks

Hello, All.

Beth, here, at 26 or so weeks.

The little gal inside is almost 2 pounds at this point and around 14 inches. They tell me she can hear pretty well at this point, can tell whether the lights outside are on or off, and is developing more regular sleep patterns. She's practicing the movements of breathing, and is also now able to open & close her eyes. I wonder what she thinks of the place.

Hands and feet are very active & may respond to touch at this point. I wonder if that is what's happening sometimes. She'll be kicking up a storm -- where my belly looks like a jumping frog in a water balloon -- but then if I put my hand on it, she will stop moving. Wouldn't it be great if that trick worked for the rest of our lives...

I just read that her feet are 2 inches long. Inconceivable! Can you imagine? No way......

I asked Tory to take me out last night. With all this work around the house & outside, I haven't been able to wear some of my super cute new clothes. Not that that was the whole reason for going out, but I have to admit that was a pretty big part of it. :) Given the fact that I was actually wearing make-up & had my hair down, I thought I'd better seize the moment & get a picture. The first one I tried to take of myself, the second is one I bribed Tory to take. (While he was mumbling about me correcting my retarded posture.)

If you can't tell from the above pictures, I find photos just a bit awkward these days. I've gained 9 pounds so far, which is pretty low for almost 27 weeks, but is still 9 pounds I'm not quite used to yet.

The Lame Schmuck

I've been getting a fair share of lectures about not blogging lately. It's been about 10 weeks I guess. So here is a little explanation if it helps any --

I'M NESTING LIKE CRAZY!

At first it was just an avoidance of our computer because of the time factor. (It takes about 10 minutes for a picture to load to the blog.) And I just don't have much patience for sitting around like that -- especially when the nesting bug hit. I've been keeping really busy with the house, the yard, and the garden and it feels great. We also went on a 10 day vacation to Maine, and then my sister & nephew and I went on a little vacation to our parents home in Rolla. If I can keep the blogging up (now that I'm back), I'll post some of the favorites from the trips.

My mom came up for about a week after we went to Rolla and helped me immensely. We painted a few rooms and moved all kinds of stuff around. For about 5 days we were intense in our pursuit to get things done. Tory was out of town which made it even easier. THANK YOU, MOM! There is no way I could have even handled the mental enormity of the task, much less the physical, without that help.

I've kept the momentum from her visit and proceeded to redo the bathroom. Yet to come is the hallway, basement, and upstairs bath. Then if I have any energy left, the two guest rooms. But we'll see how far I get.

Sorry to all who were checking the blog and coming up disappointed. I will try to be more diligent. But please, if you check it, leave me a comment or something so I know that someone is out there reading. It provides great incentive to keep it up!

Sweet Corn!

This past Saturday morning was our first big picking of sweet corn. Pop did most the picking, and I was the "runner" -- exchanging his full bucket for an empty one and taking the corn back to fill up trash bags. I'm still not sure who got the better end of that deal. :) In a matter of two or so hours, we had seven trash bags full. I piled them all in the back of my Matrix & headed home. We picked about 1/3 of the corn that day, so there is still lots more to come.

I had commitments Saturday afternoon & evening, and I knew I wouldn't get a chance to freeze the corn until Sunday, so it all went to the cool basement. Perfect spot. Made me a little thankful the basement flooded last year -- now we have one of those air conditioned spaces you can trash and then clean up.

Sunday morning the process began. First step was to clean up all the corn. Some call this shucking, some call this husking. I'm more of a shucker of the husk I suppose. My two life-savers Nicole & Jess came over, and we made a good time of it. Thank heaven for rubber gloves!!!! Without them, I am usually timid and inhibited when it comes to pulling the husk away -- you just never know if you're going to impale a worm or get your finger in his poop trail. But with the gloves there are no worries and it goes much faster. That whole process took us from about noon to 4 or 5pm. Good times.

So by 5 pm, half the counters in my kitchen were piled high with sweet corn and the bulk of the work was still to come. Next call was to Pat, my mother-in-law, who is a seasoned corn-freezer. In fact, when she was 9 months pregnant with my brother-in-law Cody (3 days before she gave birth), she was taking her trays of corn down to the freezer, and fell and broke her leg! Talk about bum luck!

Pat came over & led the remaining troops of Nicole & myself. Nicole stood at the sink & washed the corn with a brush, making sure to get rid of all the silks she could. Those nasty, nasty silks... Then they got passed to Pat & I, who cut the kernels off the cob and into a skillet. Pat likes to hold her cob in one hand at an angle & cut them off that way. Which is how I used to do it -- but I was always slow and inhibited by the thought of slicing right through my thumb muscle. But she taught me a new trick that she got out of a catalog.

The trick is to use a bundt pan. You stick the tip of the cob in the middle hole, and then scrape the kernels into the pan. This is genius!!!!! It goes so much faster (and safer) this way. Pat was reluctant to use this method after spending her whole life doing it one way, but as a newbie, I'm embracing it fully.

After getting the kernels off, they get boiled with a little sugar & water for just a few minutes. Then cooled, then bagged, tagged & frozen. The result is a freezer shelf full of yellow loveliness and the reassuring feeling that for the next year or so, as long as you can afford your electric bill, you will not grow hungry. Whew! Thank you Pop, Pat, Nicole, and Jess!