Old-Fashioned Arizona Christmas

Every year since we have been here, we have to discuss how weird it feels to be shopping for a Christmas tree in short sleeves and how traditions are to go to the park and have a picnic Christmas day and how getting a new bike for Christmas is not a disappointment because you can actually go out and ride it.

The discussion always seems to start with our first sighting of the decorated cactus each season. Here it is. It definitely says "Merry Christmas, from Arizona!" Hope you all have an absolutely wonderful holiday no matter what you are wearing or how you spend the day!

The One-Man Band

Since our trip to Utah last summer where Noah got a taste of the piano, he has been taking piano lessons from a wonderful teacher that is a part of our church. Noah has really gotten excited about playing it and really feels a sense of pride when he learns a new song which is so awesome because he is rarely proud of himself for anything and more often feels like he can't do anything. I have to hand it to him also - he has to practice on a very small and old casio keyboard and I know it is sometime very frustrating for him. We did not want to get him anything serious until we knew he was going to be serious about learning to play. Maybe for Christmas:)

His teacher is also a wonderful hammered dulcimer player and has taught Noah to play some. He spends the majority of his time on the piano, but has quickly learned a couple of songs on the dulcimer - which is very impressive since he only gets to play it during his lessons for a few minutes every other week.

He has an incredible gift of memory and and once he has learned a song he plays everything without music in front of him. The poor child got his mother's musical ear, which means he cannot hear or sing in key so he does not know if he is always playing the right note just by listening and cannot tell when something is out of tune. Thank goodness he has his father here to help him with his practicing at home.

Noah has also just begun learning to play the recorder in music at scholl. He is less thrilled about this instrument (but who isn't).

Here is Noah at his first ever recital and he did an outstanding job!

Oh no! She's moving!

I know I should be grateful - it has taken Reese this long to figure out how to move, but she is into everything and all she's doing is scooting like a wounded soldier. I'm so nervous for when she is actually crawling, climbing and walking!
She is so different from Noah. He was content as long as you were entertaining him - never explored, put things in his mouth or went where he shouldn't. Reese is so curious. She touches everything and everything goes in her mouth! I feel like I spin my wheels all day keeping her out of things or getting her in a place that is safe for her to explore. I am busy beyond belief and get absolutely nothing accomplished by the end of the day. I have never understood how people do it that have more than one little one at a time. I am tempted to empty the house and pad the floors and walls so there is nothing for her to get into. But then how would she learn? I have to keep reminding myself that it is all allowing me to continue having my giant bowl of Mint Cookie Crunch ice cream every night and not be as big as our house!

Bare

Here is one of the pictures from the obligatory "nude" photo session of Reese. Their little naked bodies are so cute - it's no wonder we all are drawn to take pictures of them. And they work so great as blackmail later in life.

The other picture is one of the few we have of Reese asleep. I am so afraid to disturb her at all when she is asleep - because it is so rare and because she wakes up very easily. I took this one however because I wanted it on record that she sleeps with a blanket over her face. As soo as you lay her down, she pulls the blanket up over her and shuts out the world. I have found her with it completely wrapped around her head before. It makes me very nervous. Thankfully we have these muslin blankets that are almost like cheesecloth so I know she can breathe.

Darth Vader and the Mermaid

We were very busy this Halloween. With two kids so spread out in ages, we had to do different activities for each one.We carved pumpkins all together. Noah di most all of the carving and did a great job. Reese just played in the pumpkin guts and loved it. She really loves textures and wants to know how everything feels. She could have played with the pumpkin for hours if we let her - I'm thinking of getting her one for Christmas, spreading out a big tarp and just letting her go to town. It would be her favorite present I'm sure. She is like a pet - more interested in the boxes and paper than in the actual toys.

Reese and I have been going to a place called My Gym. Each week we go and do dances and songs and swing and play on the equipment and have a great time. So, the day before Halloween, we attended a party held there for little kids. They had a "Funhouse" to climb through, bubbles filled with smoke, and funky things to touch. On Halloween, Noah had a friend spend the night. We all went to a party held by a friend of theirs from school, then went trick or treating and then watched Gremlins while eating tons of candy. Noah dressed as Darth Vader and this is the only picture of him with his mask on - because of course, as with all Halloween costumes, he could not see throught the eyeholes. His friend also did not wear his mask because it smashed his nose. I told them both that that is all part of the tradition - you can't have a costume that didn't bug the crap out of you by the end of the night or it wouldn't be a true Halloween experience.

Is it really fall?

Living in Tucson, sometimes makes it hard to remember that the rest of the country is actually going through seasons. As we are walking around sweating in our shorts and flip-flops, it's hard to believe that there are places not too far away where it is getting ready to snow. I absolutely love the fall and winter here - it's such a wonderful time of year - but I do miss the crisp, cold evenings and the smell of snow in the air and especially the changing leaves and fall colors. Fall here is time for flowers - purple, fuscia and yellow. I get spring fever in the fall - it's so exciting to emerge from the house after being cooped up in it for the long hot summer.

Well, to remind us of what fall is supposed to be like, we took a trip to Flagstaff, AZ for the week during "fall break". A new thing the schools have started here (and other places I'm sure) where the kids get a week off in mid-October. It's a perfect time to travel.

Flagstaff was awesome. My parents and nieces came with us and a friend of Noah's. It was great for him to have someone there to hang out with instead of it always just being us adults. We all rented a house and had a great time spending the week together. Since it was shortly before Halloween, we decorated the house with Halloween decorations and everyday the secret Halloween goblin would come and fill a treat bucket with goodies and toys for each of the kids - even Reese got stuff. They were all amazed and baffled about how the goblin got in and did that while we were gone each day.
We went to the Grand Canyon and all the kids got their junior ranger badges. We went to Sunset Crater where they got another badge. They were so proud of themselves - it's alot of work, but a fun way to learn about the parks. We also visited the Museum of Northern Arizona and the Lowell Observatory. The boys went to Meteor Crater with Grandpa one day while the girls went to the park and before we left town we dipped candles at a store downtown.

After her mother's heart

Reese is definitely her mother's child - she loves (I mean LOVES) to eat! She eats anything you let her and watches closely while others eat all the things we won't let her. Already, she has gotten so that she does not like to be spoon fed and wants only finger foods that she can pick it up and feed herself. She gets so excited to eat that she has a beat to which she eats - she taps her heels on the seat throughout the entire meal. It's a whole body experience, even her hair gets into it!

She hasn't yet rejected anything we have given her, except a bite of very spicy beans that I fed to her before tasting them myself and did not know they were spicy. Up to now, she has had bananas, blueberries, strawberries, sweet potatoes, red bell pepper, jicima, squash, pumpkin, olives, tofu, cheerios, brown rice, green beans, broccoli, asparagus, tomatoes, raspberries, mango, kiwi, buckwheat, apricot, peaches, cabage, potatoe, prunes, pears, peas, carrots, watermelon, cantalope, avacado, whole wheat pasta and black and pinto beans (and of course, but don't tell, a couple sips of Starbuck's Green Tea Frappacino! Her favorite - what did I tell you - just like her mom)! Now if we could just get her to sleep like her mom...

Benefits of warm weather

Living in Tucson and having the warm weather for so long has been fun with Reese. We have been able to swim almost every night, until recently. I have a very legitimate reason to make her wear sunglasses, not just to be cute, and I get to see her cute creases, folds and chubs everyday because they don't have to be covered up by winter clothing. I love this weather!

All About Teeth

At exactly 7 months old, September 20, Reese's bottom front tooth began to show. And very shortly after was the one next to it. And, almost overnight, she became a baby with teeth - a biter! She bites anything she can sink her two little teeth into. I'm sure it feels very strange to have these new things in her mouth. She is right about on average for getting her two teeth, but we thought they would never come because it seems that she has been "teething" since she was only a couple of months old. Who knows, what we thought was teething could have been hunger, exhaustion, overstimulation, gas,... I am aware that as her mother I should know what her cries and squeals mean by now, but I still have no idea. We are working diligently to teach her some basic hand signs so she can communicate in a way that her unintuitive parents can understand.

At about the same time Reese got her teeth, Noah got his braces off. It was a good dental month for the Hedgepeths!

It's in the details.

Noah got his first pair of glasses in early September. We knew this moment would come someday - he was doomed from the start being a part of this family. He was very excited to get them (thank goodness) and couldn't wait to pick them out. He tried on many pair and ended up with these - he really likes that they are blue, plus, you have to admit, they make him look so handsome! Which I am sure to remind him at embarassing times - like at school and around his friends - that's my job after all.

When he finally got the prescription filled and put them on for the first time, he was amazed. Amazed at all the leaves on the trees and the pebbles on the ground and the details in everything he looked at. It reminded me of the first pair of glasses I got and how incredible the world looked through them - almost like magic, everything had a crisp outline around it. One of my most favorite things about having children is how they remind me to not take life for granted - especially the everyday things that begin to seem mundain and can get blurred by time. Whenever I look at that handsome man in those blue galsses, I take time to observe and appreciate the details, and see the world through his eyes.

Utah annual

It's been a long time since I have posted. We went on our annual summer trip to Utah this year in late July/early August so we were not there for VBS this year (usually held in mid June) but we still had a wonderful time of course. My mother and my two nieces (Sadie and Burnee) and Dave all got to come with us this year - and it was Reese's first chance to meet friends and family there and her first plane trip. She did great! We spent a few days with my Grandmother - it was so good to see her and spend some time with her and ther rest of the Loock family. It seems as though we have become closer to all of them and have spent much more quality time and gotten to know alot of them much better since we have moved. What a shame that we waited so long to reach out. I really enjoy the time we have with them.

We did much playing on the wonderful Utah summer grass. I really miss the soft green, green grass of Utah.

My Grandmother has always had a piano in her house as long as I can remember, but I do not ever remember anyone ever playing it. During this trip, Dave and Noah were tinking around on it and Noah learned a piece of the "Entertainer". He became very excited about it and wanted to begin piano lessons as soon as we got home. I am so greatful for that piano - it finally got Noah interested in something musical!

We went to many of our good ol' Logan sites for fun - painting at the ceramic shop, going to the 24th of July fireworks, Ryan's park, First Pres, the Saturday market, the Aquatic Park, Bear Lake, and visiting many friends: Gennie Olsen, the Andersons, the Swensons, the Bissonettes, the Becks, the Deberards, the Johnsons, the Reddigs, the Sawyers, Lauri and Andrea, the Dennisons, the Stewarts, the Riffes, the Roberts, the Colemans, and many others from church. I even got to spend some awesome time with Nadine who was visiting all the way from New Jersey for our high school reunion. There were some I very much missed seeing. I never feel like we have enough time. We also ate at all our favorite places (some more than once): India Oven, Firehouse Pizza, Center Street Grill, Costa Vida, Great Harvest, Shaved Ice Shack, Charlie's Ice Cream, Korea House - again, there is just never enough time.

One very exciting thing we did that we have not been able to do in years past is visit with some wonderful people my parents have known since before I was born - Paulette, Natalie and Jeri and their families. Paulette owns this dog - a very large Goldendoodle named Murphy. Noah fell in love with this dog in a matter of seconds. For some reason he really connected with Murphy and decided that he now wants a Labradoodle. Paulette took some great pics of them together. The pictures Noah took with Murphy are the first pictures he has been happily willing to be in since I don't know when and the genuine smile and joy he is displaying is hard to come by for him. I love these pictures! Thank you Murphy (and Paulette).

It's always hard to leave what I consider to be my home town - it's always so comfortable to be there - the people and the places make it that way. We will be back next summer to do it all again!

My very own pot-bellied pig!

I have always wanted a pot-bellied pig as a pet, but have never been brave enough to get one. Well, Noah and Dave adopted one for me one for my birthday - one that lives a sancturary near us. Her name is Susie and we went to meet her today.

She and her friend came to Ironwood pig sanctuary because their owners home was forclosed and they had to move to an apartment. We had to get up extremely early to see her before it got too hot. She is on a diet and gets sunscreened regularly on account of her light skin in the Arizona sun - she and I have much in common.
Most of the pigs were very friendly, like Arnold here saying 'hello' Reese. Some, however, are not so fond of anyone but themselves.

The sanctuary also houses one goat and several 1000 lb. hogs. Here we are with one of them.
I am looking forward to visiting Susie many more times. This is the best kind of pet to have - one that I get to enjoy while someone else does all the work.It is hard to imagine that there are so many pot-bellied pigs that people abandon that there is a sanctuary devoted to them - over 600 of them!