The Swarrell Life

Well, the countdown has begun. I realize that the countdown has actually be going on quite a while, but I would say that is has begun in earnest. The house is more or less ready for the little guy, Autumn is (kind of) ready for the guy, I am as ready as I will ever be, so bring him on! Trinity, you ask? She just wants a lollipop! Here's our little sweetie, sharing her goodies like she always does! Here's how we kill a little time in the evening: we hang out and play around. I wonder, does Trinity have any idea that the foot rest goes up AND down? Also, I wonder if she has any clue about her little brother. Probably not, but she will soon! But in the mean time, kisses for mommy! You can't really see it, but Trinity is blowing kisses to Autumn. She is about the sweetest little kid! On a more serious note, our (ex) dog Digby died just the other day. She was a big dog with a big heart. She was about the sweetest dog around and she will be missed dearly. After a great day pickin...

Every once in a while I try to get a shot of Trinity sitting still. Good luck with that one! Ha! She's a busy little bee, always going from here to there...and there...and there...then back again! The other day I took her outside, turned my back for about 3 seconds, turned back around again to find that she's halfway across the yard, jumping into her pool with all her clothes on! Crazy little kiddo! So sitting still is not really in her skill set. That's okay, she's her momma's daughter after all... Fortunately, she loves to help! Dusting is a GREAT skill to have! So here's a video of the little bugger and her friend Ava. They were loving the slide. All of a sudden though, Trinity decides to go running and screaming across the yard. Ah to have the spirit of a child! Finally, we come to the end of the post. I know that you're now used to posts that have 321 photos and really (or at least mildly) witty banter, but it's time for all that to come to an end....

Sometimes I sit and wonder why I just did the thing that I just did. I think that parts of this post are going to be like that, but you'll probably get a chuckle out of the whole thing. That is, if you are the chuckling type. It was a bustling weekend, with us buzzing about like the busy little bees that we are. Honestly I don't even remember what we did Friday night. I do remember that we participated in the Shriner's 5/10k Fun Run/Walk. That seems like a lot of forward slashes. Hmm, oh well. Autumn was going to walk this one, but didn't instead she pushed two toddlers for 3.1 miles in the jogging stroller...while jogging! did I mention that she is over 38 weeks pregnant? What a stud! Somehow though, Trinity got the medal... After the run, we went for Trinity's first haircut. My friend Lisa cut it, she did a great job with a wiggly baby. As you can see, she has figured out how to distract a toddler long enough for a haircut! The result...very nice! She looks soooo ...

Last week we went to Boise, just Autumn and I, for the follow-up to Trinity's neuro-psychological evaluation. If that name confuses you a little, you're in good company. What it means is that we had a nice lady with a PhD evaluate Trinity's overall development. We have done some work with Early Intervention, which is a state-run program, but this is a little more in-depth. We spent a few hours with her over a month ago to establish some baseline values for Trinity's overall development. For Autumn and I it is always a little bit of a struggle when we go to these appointments. I think it is because Trinity's injury is still a bit of an open wound for us. Overall, Trinity is doing so well and we really thank God that she is doing so well and that we get to be her parents. She is such a joy and pleasure for the both of us. But about a year ago she rocked our world when she went into the hospital and came out two weeks later with a brain injury. We still don't know ...

Another weekend of this and that, so get ready for another picture fest. One of these days I will figure out how to post so that only the first part of the blog post shows up, that way you don't have to wait for all the pictures to load if you don't want to. But it's Trinity, so who wouldn't want to? Wings Over Baker happened this weekend, so we took Autumn's folks' Plymouth out for the car show and I played with the Baker City Elks Drum and Bugle Corps. It was a good time with some fun flying and good friends! Here is Trinity playing (on) my drum. The aerobatics were something else, even Trinity sat still for a minute to watch the planes fly around. Thanks to all the pilots who came and put on a great show! The Plymouth, fun car to drive! Saturday morning Autumn ended up having to work, so Trinity and I went out to the air show again and had huckleberry pancakes. I think that we are going to have to get her a separate meal, since she ate over half of mine. That...

So, before we get into the picture-fest that is this post, a little update on the littlest Harrell. Autumn went in to see the doctor yesterday, just for a normal little check up. Time's getting short, so we see the doc more often now. Most of the appointment went as expected, the doctor asks a few questions, reports on any labs or tests that have been done, measures fundal height, and, since Autumn is about 36 weeks along, feels around the abdomen to try and see if the baby is head down, which is where they should be about this time. He wasn't sure, so he pulled out the world's oldest ultrasound machine and started looking around. No prints this time, the machine is too old to do stuff like that. We were a little nervous when he thought he saw the head near Autumn's diaphragm, but it turns out the head was really down where it ought to be. Yay! So that's that, our little boy is about 6 lbs right now and supposedly growing an ounce a day. Can't wait to meet him! ...

Well, it's Jubilee time again here in Baker City. That means Drum and Bugle Corps for me most of the weekend. Nevertheless, we try to keep things balanced, which means a busy weekend, to say the least. By the way, I wonder who won the duck races this year. I don't think it was me. In the mean time... Trinity has a thing for shoes. Even shoes that aren't hers. Here she is with mom's shoes. Did I say she likes shoes? Jubilee parade, me and my little girl. She sings while she drums. That's more than I can do... Dad? I dunno where that guy could be. In addition to shoes, Trinity likes balloons. The MayDay guy was nice enough to give her one. Here she is giving the balloon a big kiss! One thing about Jubilee is that it is ALWAYS nice and sunny. That means swimming pool! Here she is in her new suit, sans diaper...fun for all...sort of!