The Swarrell Life

Isn't that Chinese cabbage? Well that's how big our little boy-fetus is this week. At about 2.5 lbs, I would say that Autumn is officially having a hard time seeing her toes with this little guy attached to the front of her belly. I was just thinking that I don't have nearly as many belly pictures of Autumn this pregnancy. It's weird how that happens, even after everyone warns you. Even if I forget to take pictures, I am very excited to my my little boy. In a way, this is better than a second girl because it will be a totally different experience. Who knows? A gift either way. Here's about how big he is: Pretty cute kid, huh?

Well, it was really a walk to the park. Actually, it was a walk to the high school, where the kindergarten children now attend classes. And it was all in the name of fun! Trinity is a big fan of slides, so off we went to see what was happening on the newly-built playground. This year (I think) our local school district closed a school and moved kindergarten classes to a wing of the high school that is underused. Budget shortfalls have made drastic cuts an unfortunate reality. But it also means new playground equipment, so Trinity benefits! The only thing that really worried me is that the play area is covered with wood chips. Fortunately, she didn't try to eat stuff too often... But she loves to slide...headfirst! Actually, there is a lump in the middle of the slide where it is not as steep as the rest. So she would slow down and then launch herself the rest of the way. One time, instead of sliding down the bottom half of the slide, she just crawled REALLY fast, pretty much out of ...

I really think the world of my daughter. She is about as sweet and fun as anybody I have ever met. It seems like whatever comes her way is just okay with her. That wasn't the case when we let her loose with just her diaper on. It was not okay...it was GREAT! Check out the smile: I'm free and HAPPY! Look mom and dad, I know how to operate Velcro! I think I feel a breeze... Do you dare me to take it off? Don't dare me! As first-time parents, Autumn and I are learning all the time. You would think, though, that we would know better than to let a baby run around the house naked...let's just say hardwood was a good choice!

Alright, so it wasn't the best way to start out: crying in the bike trailer. But hey, it's her first time in the trailer and first time having to wear a helmet. Once we started going, she sang all the way to the YMCA pool to watch her mommy compete in the first ever local mini-triathlon. Good stuff! That is NOT a happy face. Luckily she has adjusted to the experience very well and now I pick her up from day care on my bike. I love it! We had to wait a little while for Autumn's heat to start. So we tooled around the pool lobby. Trinity had her eye on the box of bananas that had been set aside for the participants. What you don't see in this picture is Trinity missing the bench with one foot and rolling off. Then she tried to stand up under the bench...poor kiddo! She was okay, just mostly scared. Is this thing EVER going to start? Here's what Trinity and I saw: Mommy swimming... ...Mommy riding... -Short break waiting for mommy to finish the bike portion - Here she ...

It was an eventful weekend, as you soon will see. Being Mother's Day on Sunday, I had some plans for Autumn's enjoyment and relaxation, but there were other things to attend to. Saturday morning brought a local mini-triathlon. I'll blog more on that later, but in the mean time Trinity and I had some cheering to do. In order to get over to the pool, we needed a ride. Good thing we were given a used bike trailer! Trinity crawled right in without any prompting at all! Born to ride! This seems like a normal photo, but it's really a very important one. Ever since last September, Trinity has been on medication for seizures. Over the last few weeks we have been tapering it and this is the last time that she has to take this medicine. We are so excited that she is medication-free. It's sort of weird to only give her a vitamin in the morning. Nice! My dad and step-mom came over Friday to see us (read: Trinity). It was great to see my dad doing so well after his surgery and j...

So we had another portrait taken of our little boy blue...but he wasn't too cooperative. For one thing, he's too big for the ultrasound, so we can only get part of him in view at any given time. The other thing is that he just won't mug for the camera. We'll just have to work on that! In the meantime, enjoy the best shot we could get:

But the little horns are starting to sprout: Actually, she's no devil at all. Autumn and I were just talking about how sweet a person Trinity is turning out to be. She's about as busy as can be, but she already has more empathy than I will ever have. When other kids get upset, she gets this really worried look on her face. If they start to cry then she joins in to share the moment. Very funny to see. Nothing significant here, except that she looks like such a big girl, instead of a baby. It's true that they grow up so fast! Here's another grown-up picture, very studious. In reality I think that she is deciding how best to put it in her mouth. This happened while I was gone in Arizona. Trinity is learning to eat things off the counter with her mouth. She lets out a giggle and then proceeds to slurp the food straight into her mouth. It's so stinkin' cute... ...and she KNOWS it's cute. She sure is proud of herself! Big smiles for the camera! Here's Trinity ...

This is just a quick update to let you know that we went to Spokane for Bloomsday, which is a 12k run (7.46 miles). I ran with our friend Nancy and we ended up on the local news. That's me on the right in the red shirt and Nancy is right next to me with the blue hat and shirt. Way to go Nancy!