Testing...

May,2007 054
Originally uploaded by sillyschramm

I'm testing my flickr account to post photos to my blog. But Erich is cute, so here's another picture of him. Thanks for your patience.

A day in May

Our little man is so close to walking. He even stood without holding anything for like a split second. We're thankful we use cloth diapers because the bulk makes a nice padding for all the falling on his bum. He also had his first encounter with the oven this past weekend. He was on the other side of the kitchen safe and sound, but he crawled over to the oven while we blinked, and had his little fingers in that space between the oven door and the broiler drawer. He has blisters on three of his fingers. I guess he is going to have to be banned from the kitchen during any kind of baking from now on. Jonathon and I feel stupid because we were both in the kitchen, one of us right in front of the oven. At least we didn't learn a harder lesson; this one is pretty tame.

Anyway, our Memorial Day was uneventful. I slept for half the day after a hard night's work, and Jonathon entertained Erich and Barney.

Oh, and poor Barney, we have to find a new home for him soon. He's great with the baby (as you can see by the torture Erich inflicts on the poor animal), but Barney doesn't know his own strength and it scares me sometimes. We also are just so stressed out because Barney requires a lot of attention and time outside and we just haven't been able to give that to him since Erich has been born. After many, many months of going back and forth on this issue, we finally made the hard decision. Anyone have room for a 75-lb beast called Barney???

For Kimberly

This one is for you, Kimberly. Erich is not always smiles and sunshine (just most of the time). But, then again, this picture is from when he was 4 months old. You know, get back to me when he's 17 years old. Then I'll have pics of a moody teenager (can't wait!!).

Barnegat Lighthouse

Jonathon came back from California late Saturday night and we thought it was a good idea to spend a day together exploring another great wonder of our beloved New Jersey (while we're still here). We drove to Barnegat Lighthouse which is located on the northern tip of Long Beach Island. Of course, on our way there, we had to stop for a hike in a wildlife management area where there were MANY ticks (both Jonathon and I had to pull one out, as well as brush many off our pant legs; Erich made it out safe this time).
The scenery of the shore was breathtaking when you look out into the Atlantic. Of course, if you look out the opposite way, you'll see a typical NJ shore town. Going before Memorial Day was also a big help; the traffic wasn't too bad.
On a side note, I didn't upload these pictures to Yahoo photos because they will be cancelling their photo site. I will have to probably open a Flickr account to show our photos. I'll let you know soon.

Happy Late Mother's Day

Mother's Day was interesting. We went to church in the morning. After church all the men made brunch for the women of the church (very nice!!). We then went home, Jonathon packed a bag, and we drove to the airport where Jonathon went away to Santa Barbara, CA for a week. I then took Erich home and started my adventure as a temporary single mother. VERY HARD!! Let me tell you; this is why God meant for there to be a mother AND a father. Luckily, Jonathon's mother came today to help out while I went away to work (where I am now, which is why there is no picture with this blog). So, I had a good and bad Mother's day. I love being a mom, so all in all, it was good. I hope all you mothers out there had a wonderful day!

A walk in the woods

We recently went on a hike to Washington Crossings State Park in the Sourland Mountains. Jonathon has a connection with someone from the Garden Club of America and may be able to work this summer identifying/surveying the park. It's not yet a well-known hiking spot so the entrance is on a rural residential road out in the sticks. If you didn't know it was there, you would drive right past. But it was beautiful. And there were still native species of plants there which means there is hope of revitalizing the forest. We took Erich and he seemed to enjoy himself, and my was he very dirty when we were finished.

Springtime Merriment

There will be no pictures of me (Katie) during Spring...EVER! My allergies temporarily age me by about 20 years. Swollen, red eyes, sneezing, coughing, wheezing...but I still love the smells of Spring (when I can smell them).

But we have plenty of pictures of the small one. He is just always cute. We have all been enjoying the warmer temperatures. We have gone to the park a few times; Erich loves to swing and crawl in the grass. He loves to watch the dandelion seeds be carried away by the wind. We are all desperately trying to enjoy this time before the heat and humidity of summer begin.

Jonathon is working very hard with his research and his writing. He sometimes has long days away from home, but is feeling productive. And, well, him being productive is the most important thing at this time. The rest seems to take care of itself.

I hope you all are enjoying your Spring. Make sure to walk barefoot in the grass while you can.

Will Daddy share his doughnut with Erich? Not today, poor Erich...not today. Maybe when you have more teeth.

Erich, again, has mastered a new challenge: pulling himself up to standing. He favors the couch, chair and baby gate. Every morning and after every nap we now come in to find him standing up waiting for us to come release him from his prison; he is often clinging to the bars of his crib. This new skill also makes it all the easier to torture Barney while he's trying to nap on the couch (Barney has proven to be a VERY patient dog).

Another Blogroll

This is one of my favorite pictures. Our dog and son watching the garbage collectors on a nice, sunny day. The simple pleasures of life.

I'm trying to get away from paying extra through my verizon website as my blogroll. I'm trying something new. So this is just a test-run. Have a great day.