GodotDeuce

Tyler started asking for a sibling soon after our little friend Izzy was born. He didn't ask us, directly. But he told enough adults in his life, that it became clear it was on his mind in a variety of settings. I think our friend Brooke was the first one to tell us, that he was asking for a little sister. Izzy is her kid, so I could see how that conversation might happen. Then Ms. Teresa, Tyler's preschool teacher, the young, hip, artistic one informed me that he told HER he wanted a little sister. I can't recall who told us next, but we decided to ask Tyson periodically if he wanted a little brother or sister (as in, did he want a sibling). The answer was yes.  Sometimes he wanted a little brother, sometimes a little sister. But he never answered with a no, always yes.

So in May, we got Tyler a new book and read it together - "I'm a Big Brother Now." After we finished it, we told him he would be a big brother, after Halloween and before Thanksgiving. We went over the months of the year and the holidays before his younger brother or sister will arrive. Tyler became very quiet and very serious. He walked over to the entryway table and picked up the framed photo of him when he was five months old. He brought it back to the couch, laid down, staring at it, and wouldn't speak to us for a while.

I'd envisioned having him call the relatives to tell them the news. Instead of making it about having "a new baby", I wanted him to be excited about "becoming a big brother." But Tyler didn't go for that idea. For a couple of weeks, he didn't talk about it at all, though he did keep asking to read the Big Brother book. One night, after school, I sat on the wall while he played with a friend and the friend's baby brother. He made a game of blocking the little boy from walking more than a few steps, as he was very concerned for the little boy's safety. The three boys wandered out of site. The boys' dad went to check on them, and returned, tentatively asking, "So, Tyler said he's going to be a big brother?"

So far, this pregnancy has been much easier than the first. I was already taking Vitamin B6 before I got pregnant, so though I had plenty of nausea, I was able to keep everything down. Last time, I had to take B6  plus Unisom, this time I was able to get by with just the B6. I fell asleep too early too often, and couldn't stand to be touched other than on my extremities, so it's been hard on Tyler, but by 17 weeks I was feeling much better. Even though I weigh much less than I did when I got pregnant with Tyler, I switched to maternity pants at 17 weeks, much earlier than last time. But then, last time, I was mad at myself when I realized how much more comfortable I could have been, had I just switched earlier! I dug my maternity clothes out of the storage unit, proud of myself for saving them all these years, the money we'll save!, and put them all in the washer without even looking at them, they were so dusty. When I pulled them out of the washer and hung them to dry , I called Tyson - "Dude - was the year I was pregnant with Tyler the coldest year in the history of Tucson???" It's already triple digits here, so to realize that all of my work maternity clothes were sweaters. SWEATERS! Tyler was born at the end of March. How on earth was I wearing sweaters at the end of March? GodotDeuce is due around November 6th - not yet sweater season in Tucson!

If you're having a hard time deciding how to pronounce GodotDeuce, think Apple Juice. I was calling him or her Tippecanoe, but it seems Tyson felt that was setting the bar too low. GodotDeuce it is. We're not yet half-way through the pregnancy. And so we wait..

The Graduate!

After four long years, Tyson has earned his bachelor's degree! Not only did he complete his business degree in Management of Information Systems, while being a full time he graduated with honors, Magna Cum Laude. We are so proud!

The ceremony for the business college was held at the Tucson Convention Center. Tyson, Anne Marie, Tyler and I arrived together, and anxiously awaited the arrival of Gigima and Auntie Em. They arrived just in time, bearing balloons and gifts.

I failed to bring Tyler's LeapPad. Somehow, I thought it would be a relatively short ceremony, that he could live without it. I brought him coloring paper and crayons. He had no interest in those. I even thought he might sleep - his naptime at school is 12:30-2:30, and this ceremony started at 1pm. But no, there was no napping, at least not by Tyler. That was the longest ceremony of my life. Between playing with the balloons, climbing over people, multiple trips to the bathroom, eventual refusal to sit in the aisle, instead scooting up and down the steps, laying on the steps, then back to my lap and wacking the guy in front of us with a balloon, wow this ceremony was brutal. It reminded me of Lord of The Rings - except instead of lots of hiking through mountains, it was lots of 22 year olds giving speeches, followed by the obligatory four separate endings to ensure EVERY last thread was tied off. It was hard to relate to the speeches, and made me appreciate just how different Tyson really was from the vast majority of his classmates. There was no time for Tyson to participate in any clubs! His parents didn't pay his rent! Or do his laundry! One student walked across the stage with a toddler - I was sad we didn't know we could do that. Very different from a University of Phoenix graduation, in which students tend to be in their 30s, 40s and 50s, where the ceremony is tailored for graduates who juggled school with work and family obligations.

How was YOUR "Eller Experience"? I loved Tyson's "senior quote" - "Congratulations! The best part of your life is now over."


After the ceremony, we stopped for pictures in front of "A" Mountain. I realized Tyson took photos of me, just six years ago, with this same view. One advantage of hosting the ceremony at the TCC instead of the UofA...also, the traffic, though bad, was easier to navigate.

Somehow, those balloons survived the ceremony.So did the hat.

So proud!

We took a final family photo, then headed to Barrio for a celebratory meal.

Tyson's friend Jimmy and his sister came to Barrio as well, and joined us after their meal. We hung out for a couple of hours, then headed home for an uneventful evening.

Saturday we spent the day cleaning and preparing, and Saturday evening some friends came over - Dan, Sarah, and 4.5 of their kids, Emery and Chris and their two kids, and John and Brooke, with their two kids. When the party ended at 10, I was struck again by how different this graduation was from the typical graduation. A party ending at 10pm??? And we had beer left over??? WHAT???

And great news, Tyson got hired on at the place where he's been interning. University of Arizona Health Network - Health Plans. He is a Systems Analyst I.

Congratulations, Tyson!!! You did it! Done! We are so proud of you!

And now, onto the next chapter of our lives - Waiting for GodotDeuce.

Easter 2014

This Easter we were lucky to have both Grandma A and Grandpa spend time with us. In the morning, Grandma, Tyler, and I went to church while Tyson and Grandpa stayed at the house to keep an eye out for the Easter bunny. It was a warm day, but pleasant in the shade, and the beautiful ironwood trees in our neighbors' yards were in bloom.

Tyler had difficulty comprehending the rules of the egg hunt.

The trick is to beat Vader to the eggs.

Tyler searched valiantly for the final egg, but it was nowhere to be found. Funny, I think that happened last year too. I think Vader gets some extra protein every Easter...

Happy Easter!

Pirate Party!

Tyler had been asking for a dragon party for months, and I'd been researching dragon cakes, dragon decorations, dragon activities...Then suddenly he switched things up and started asking for a pirate party. Since I hadn't actually purchased anything, that worked out well. Long ago, I'd taken my god-daughter, Amber, to a pirate party at her classmate's house, and had enjoyed it so much, I'd always wanted to throw a pirate party myself some day. Here was my opportunity! Sweet! I was able to take an afternoon to scout out Reid Park and map out a scavenger hunt.

I attempted to make a pirate ship cake. Emery was in the midst of her comps (comprehensive exams) so wasn't able to assist. I was left to my own devices. Scary. For some reason, this year I actually had a hard time with cakes falling apart. I don't recall having this problem in the past. I stubbornly refused to give up and buy a cake from a store. Finally, Tyson reminded me that in previous years, I lined the cake pans with parchment paper. Oops. I had to rush the cake decorating as a result.

Tyler's party took place on his actual birthday this year. So his first gift of the day was something he'd need for his party.

Tyler had already outgrown his pirate costume from Halloween. He was so excited to get this one, with so many accessories!

We arrived early to the picnic site. I was relieved that Shawn came early, with his superawesome dog. I'd never met this dog before, but immediately fell in love with him. A Great Dane. Somehow, Shawn and his dog eluded the camera.

Shawn helped Tyson prep the food while I decorated. At Tyler's previous three parties, we've found that whatever time we scheduled the party, most guests arrive at least 30 minutes late, closer to an hour late. Not this year! The first guest (besides Shawn) arrived 10 minutes early! Meanwhile, Tyler had fallen asleep on the drive to Reid Park, and was still crashed out in the car, with Grandma patiently waiting for him to awaken. Fortunately the guest's dad was able to take her to the playground to play until more kids arrived.

Sure enough, most of the guests this year arrived closer to the official start time. By 11:20, we started the scavenger hunt. I used to be a pool party coordinator, and also used to run the activities for Paula's kids parties. But those were in contained environments. I found getting the kids coordinated at the park to be much more challenging. I'd go to the playground to round up kids, but newly arriving kids would follow me, and start playing on the playground, while I was leading the other kids back to the party! I resisted the temptation to ask Tyler's teacher for help - it didn't seem fair to ask her to work on her day off. I summoned my old lifeguarding voice and rallied up as many kids as I could.

The first stop on the scavenger hunt was a tree, with a box full of pirate gear. The kids got to choose from pirate bandanas, necklaces, eye patches, hats, clothes, maps, and even a couple of swords. Tyler stuck with his homemade sword from Halloween. Good call, bud.

The second clue led us to the duck pond. By this point, Emery had arrived - an ally! Between the two of us, we managed to keep the kids on task, and prevented any falls/pushes into the pond.

Deciphering the next clue took some time, and led us to a drinking fountain.

After the water fountain, the kids learned they had to walk the plank, and Noah and Ruby discovered the final clue hidden under the bridge.

You can't see it, but the kids are collecting treasure from the treasure chest - candy pearls,  candy gold doubloons, non-edible gold doubloons, and jewelry.

Meanwhile, Tyson was rocking the grill scene, with Kevin and Tiffany keeping him company.

Tyson has the public park grilling scene down. He wore disposable rubber gloves, and persuaded me to buy heavy duty cleanup wipes, just this once, for food safety purposes. Much more reliable than hoping for soap and running water, let alone warm water, in the public restrooms!

Kevin loves pirates, too. It was especially touching to see Gigima conversing with Kevin and Tiffany while voluntarily wearing a pirate bandana.

I need to remember to take a picture of the cake early, in case it gets hot out. In this case, it got hot, early, and the cake didn't hold up to the heat. But the kids still said it was cool.

With all the excitement, it was difficult to get Tyler to focus on eating food. Gigima and Auntie Paula helped out.

Tyson and I were suprised how much food we served. So many kids, so many families! It was awesome. Finally everyone had been served and Tyler had refueled, so we were able to serve the cake. By that time, it was so windy, we decided to skip the candles.

I made twice as much cake as last year, and yet it was barely enough! I think this is the difference between attending a preschool versus a daycare. With daycare, people are dropping off and picking up kids without interacting with each other. At preschool, there's more sense of community, stability. It was fun to see how well all the kids got along.

Tyler continued to have difficulty focusing on food. This time, Grandpa and cousin Christopher helped him out.

I eventually realized the parents were standing around, looking like they were ready to leave, but were expecting something else to happen. Emery explained it to me - they were waiting for Tyler to open presents. I love how kids always help the birthday boy open presents! Leo and Auggie were so proud of their gift - real tools!

Happy birthday, Tyler! We love you!!! Thank you to everyone who made this such a special day!

Christmas 2013

A few days before Christmas, we joined the Bushmans for an afternoon at the Maker House. The highlight was the firetruck ride with Santa.

We rode the fire truck all around downtown Tucson.

Auntie Em had to work on Christmas, so she and Gigima came to celebrate Christmas a little early. We were so happy to finally have enough seating for guests on our new couch. I don't cook or bake very often, and none of the grandmas bake very often (ever?) so homemade cookies are a special treat in our house.

Auntie Em gives the best hugs!

Waiting for the Christmas Eve service...

Christmas morning! Tyler and Vader eagerly anticipated opening gifts. That pesky photo op clearly exceeded their attention spans.

We continued our tradition of inviting Vader to open the first gift.

Dragons were definitely the theme of this Christmas. So exciting!!!

Every boy needs a Viking Hat and his very own hatchet! At this point, Tyler switched from thinking about training dragons to chopping down Truffula trees. He did NOT receive a super axe hacker, so he is not able to chop down four trees in one smacker. Just one at a time, pal.

Every brewery needs a good flight set. I thought it was time for Broken Glass Brewery to have a couple sets of its own. Can't wait to have people over to taste our beers! (Now we just need to brew four different batches...)

Thank you, Grandma A and Grandma G, for spending Christmas with us!

Pure joy. A moment to be cherished.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!