Video Post

Well, as you can see below, I finally figured out how to get videos onto the blog, but not how to embed a single video on a post. This video player updates everytime we upload a vid onto youtube, so I'll let you know in a blog entry when new videos are available and you can cycle through them on the player down below. I don't think it's the easiest way, and I'll keep trying to figure out a better solution. In the meantime, enjoy what I've got.
All continues pretty much the same for us. Chris's family reunion was last week. We only went up for one night - Chris and Jimmy stayed overnight, Kirsi and I visited and went home - but it was so much fun! I hope next year we can spend some more time there with everybody.
Jimmy keeps getting better at tee-ball. He actually tuned in for most of his last game, with only a few dirt-kicking lapses. We really enjoy practicing with him at home, and it's always fun to watch him with his team. School looms large - only a month to go!
Kirsi is still growing at her own pace - it seems slow on paper, but looking at her now it's amazing to believe that she was a tiny newborn less than three months ago. She's outgrown many adorable outfits, and grown into many more. Still no repeat of the three week roll-over, but I think it will be soon. She's getting to be very interested in her hands, and is beginning to play with her toys - she'll grab a toy, especially a plushy one, and rub it on her cheek or stick it in her mouth. Jimmy enjoys entertaining her, and she LOVES to watch her goofy brother.
All the animals are doing well. Jimmy has renamed Simba, and is now calling him Sparta. For an explaination see the video "the mean kitty song" on youtube.
As for the move, who knows? Our neighbors have decided that they can't afford to buy our property yet, so we're doing some minor repairs before we stick it on the market.

July 24th, 2009

  Summer madness continues in the great no-longer-white North.  Jimmy had his first tee-ball game yesterday, which was ADORABLE!  I've been having a hard time playing it 'cool' for him, he looks so cute in his little uniform!  But I do my best to give him five and say, "Good game," in a suitably macho tone, and I think it fools him.  He got very bored while his team was in the field and wanted to stop playing, but I told him he had to finish the game and he did it without complaining.  He loves batting, but not fielding (big surprise!) and is reluctantly learning that you can't only play the part of the game that you like all the time.  I'm really proud of our little slugger, he's really figuring out how to pay attention and be a good sport.  Now if he would just learn to keep track of his glove...

  Kirsi is just getting better and sweeter the older she gets.  She loves to talk, and I have several vids of her babble if I could just figure out how to post them!  She always has a smile on her face and is just about the best baby anyone could ask for.  I don't know how Chris and I managed to luck out with such great kids.

  We finally bought a new ferret to cheer up Helen.  She was getting very lethargic and depressed after losing Ivan, so now we have Ceasar!  They hit it off right away and she seems to be feeling much better, although she makes Ceasar sleep on the floor.  I think that will change pretty soon.  We're going to move them into the old snake cage so they have more room, as Ceasar is a very big ferret.  He gets along great with Simba, and the other animals are ignoring him as best they can.  Although Sophie is ferret-friendly, she is no longer allowed to play with them since Helen gets very upset about the slime.

  Little Sophie is doing fantastically.  She has picked up several new tricks and is now officially the best-trained dog I have ever owned.  She's a wonderful girl, and I'm so happy she found her way to us.

  As for Chris and I, we're still chugging along in our little groove.  Not much happening, but that's nothing to complain about!

July 7th, 2009

We've been up to all sorts of terrible doings since the last post.  I sold my horse to a very nice girl who has about fourteen years of horsekeeping experience and a great home for him.  I went with him when she took him home, and he was very happy to be there and settled in with the other horse right away.  So yay for Brick, and very much boo for his little goat friend, Mort.  They didn't want to take him, and their separation was the saddest thing I've ever seen.  Mort cried and screamed, and Brick screamed and stamped, and we had to lock Mort in the shed to keep him from running after the trailer.  He has been very depressed since Brick left, and we hope to find him a home with other goats or horses soon.  -- Hey!-- just since starting this entry I sold Mort and he's off to his new home to be a companion to a miniature donkey!  Who knew getting rid of farm animals was so easy?

My old man ferret, Ivan, died on the 2nd after battling through old age and two different diseases.  Helen - our young girl ferret - has been moping around and missing him, so we'll probably end up caving in and buying her a companion soon.  

Our house has recieved another new addition, unexpected but dearly loved.  Sophie is our new dog, a purebred Boston Terrier who was born completely deaf.  Some of our friends were asked to find her a loving home, and... oh come on, are any of you surprised?  She's about 8 mo old and we are training her by using sign language, which has been a lot of fun for all of us.  She came home with us on the 1st, and has already learned to come, sit, lay down, get down, go outside, and come get pets.  She also knows the signs for yes, no, bad, her name/look at me, be quiet, and is learning the signs for roll over, go to bed, go away, and be sneaky (crawl on your belly.)  The only downside is that I seem to have sprained my fingers yelling at her to be quiet.

Kirsi is growing by leaps and bounds.  She can support her full weight when she stands up.  She is eleven pounds now, and 24 inches long. She had her two-month checkup yesterday and was pronounced healthy and adorable.  She also got her first round of shots, which she handled very well.  Her poor little legs are sore today, though.  Jimmy has one more to get before he starts school, and is not pleased about it.

Yesterday we also went and traded in our Kia and bought ..... ta da! a minivan!  It's a 2007 Chevy Uplander with only 56,000 miles on it.  Our payments on it are actually going to be about $70 less a month than we were paying for the Kia, and we can fit our family in it - dogs included.  We all love it, especially Jimmy.  If you tell him to get out of the van, he yells, "Never!"  We couldn't convince him to get out of it after the test drive.

Jim's started tee-ball today at the fairgrounds.  It's for kids ages 4-6, and will be twice a week until August 6th, just in case anyone wants to come cheer him on.  We think it will be good for him to get used to cooperating with other kids and listening to a new adult before he starts school, not to mention lots of fun! Unfortunately today's practice ended early because of the wind, but we did find out that he gets to be on the same team as his cousins, Colton and Tommy.

We had a great fourth of July.  We had a barbeque at the Spurgeon's, and set off a bunch of fireworks there, then headed down to the fairgrounds.  The fireworks there were really great this year!  Jimmy loved it, but he was so tired from playing with the kids at Nana Spurgeon's that he fell asleep towards the end and we had to wake him up for the grand finale.  Kirsi slept through the whole thing, and Sophie cuddled with me, cheerfully oblivious to the incessant mortar rounds.