typealice

My mother came to my house today and my sister came over and we made rhubarb relish and rhubarb jam. My kitchen was a disaster! But mmmmmmmmmmmmmm, rhubarb relish! And even more mmmmmmmmmmmm, rhubarb jam!
Ambera and I are going to do more canning this summer. I haven’t done any since 2004. It’s something I [...]

Dear Ash,
You’re 3/4 of a year old! This month has been great. You’ve slept better than you ever have before, you took your first plane ride (or six) and you did phenomenally, and you cut FOUR teeth in the last half of the month. But wait, I’m getting ahead of myself…
We took a trip to [...]

I’ve been thinking a lot about when I should have the next baby. I have never pictured myself having only one child, never in a million years (and that’s why it was so difficult to think of only ever having one when faced with the reality of isoimmunization), mostly because my siblings are so important [...]

We’re having a nice time in the US! Surprises: Went into a shoe store, there was a HUGE rack of candy. Growing obesity epidemic? Solved. Junk food is enormously cheap. I cannot get over it. Beer ads and cigarette ads are ALL OVER THE PLACE.
Yesterday I saw a cowboy. Exciting!
We took the two [...]

Dear Ashden,
Holy camoli, you’re eight months old today! Have I mentioned yet that you’re amazing? Let’s start of this newsletter by telling you how fantastic you are. YOU ARE FANTASTIC! AMAZING! THE BEST PERSON ON THE ENTIRE PLANET!

You’re a talking machine, my little friend. You said your first word this month, and it just happened [...]

We just came back from dinner where my brother used to be a chef. Ash did an amazing job at being a good baby even though we stayed out well past his bedtime. Not a single tear or complaint. I’d hate to be one of Those People at a fancy restaurant with a crying child. [...]

Clive has to go away on business for two weeks in May (then home for a week and then gone for another week). This is his third trip in the seven months he’s worked at this job (first to Toronto and then to Montreal), and this time he’s being sent to Augusta, Georgia. [...]

Photos from the past couple of days, including my birthday:

I look like I’m giving myself birthday spankings when I was actually not.

Dear Ash,
You’re seven months old today! You are one busy, busy little man. Non-stop moving, and I know this is just the beginning. You’re still not crawling regularly, just a few steps here and there, but that army crawl of yours gets you from one side of the room to another or one room to [...]

I posted this exactly one month ago, but it was at the end of my very long newsletter, and not many people commented on it, so I imagine that it may have gotten overlooked. Ash turns seven months old today, so the next installment of his newsletter will come tonight, but I wanted to [...]