The Baptism of Lawrence Gavin

It is official! Gavin's baptism went very well. Isn't he cute in his little outfit? Aunt Karen said he looked like a pimp! We were so happy to have the company of so many of our friends and family for this important event. It is so reassuring to have the continued support that we get from you all. Such special thanks to Grandma Cathy and Grandpa Walt for hosting the wonderful reception and to Grandma Karen and Grandpa Larry for the delicious cake and little 'extras' that made the day that much more special.

She's Got Freckles on Her Butt....

Our theme song from vacation: She's got freckles on her butt she's nice.....be grateful if you've never heard this refrain from a song written by Barefoot Man. (Barefoot Man is Grand Cayman's Jimmy Buffet). If you HAVE heard this song, you are cursing me for getting it stuck in your head. This line was sung nearly a million times on our vacation and apparently none of us knows any more of the song lyrics beyond this one line.

Arkansas was an experience. We departed St. Louis early Tuesday each with our new southern name. The number one rule was this: we were to only respond to our new names for the duration of our trip. John was Bubba, I was Daisy Mae, mom was Peggy Sue, dad was Bud, and the baby was Buck. It took us a little more than 5 hours to get to there, but the drive did not feel long because of the beautiful scenery along the way. We stopped at Cracker Barrel for breakfast, filled our bellies, and headed west on 44.

John honked as we crossed the state line into the "Natural State". We drove through Mountain Home and scoped out what the town has to offer. We crossed Lake Norfolk (which is beautiful) and the Norfolk River. Our rented house had a huge deck that overlooked the water. Quite serene and peaceful. The first night we settled in and ordered pizza. The fun part was choosing which beds we would sleep in. We counted 8 beds just in the basement!

No Wireless Network Found

We definitely were in the middle of nowhere. I thought I would try to pick up an unsecured wireless network while on vacation. A message popped up on my laptop indicating that there was "no wireless network available". Not sure why I was surprised. When we made the reservations for the "resort" several weeks prior, I asked John to ask for an email confirmation. The guy (Victor) chuckled and said that he didn't have email, but that he had it written down in his notebook that he keeps by the phone.

FAMILY VACAY

Here's a picture of Gavin after his bath. He graduated to his big boy bathtub last night. He had fun splashing around.

It is almost that time!!! We're packing up and heading south.... not to the beach like we usually do, but to the Ozarks! Me, John, mom, dad, and Gavin are headed to the state of Arkansas for some fishing, shopping, and fun! Dad hit Sams Club and stocked up on goodies for the road trip. I'm really looking forward to all the garden veggies and some yummy BLTs. I am salivating just thinking about it!

Tomorrow John and I are headed to the game. Go Cards! I have been looking forward to this since my birthday. Thanks again Karen for the awesome birthday present- not only the tickets but also a free night of babysitting!! You rock!!

Hot Hot Hot!!

It is definitely August in the Lou. Hot and humid. We took Gavin to Grant's Farm yesterday. Grandma Cathy came along and we had a lot of fun. We rode the tram through the park and saw deer, horses, an ostrich, camel and cool birds. What a neat place.

the BUMBO seat

What a great invention. Thanks to Becky for getting Gavin the bumbo seat as a shower gift. He loves it! Can't you tell by the smile on his face? It helps him sit up and strengthen those muscles. It is amazing how fast he grows and changes everyday.

Runnin' to the Border

I thought you were only supposed to have cravings during pregnancy. Not so. My new favorite crave is the chicken soft taco supreme from Taco Bell. So yummy. I talked myself out of running through the drive thru before work this afternoon. Now I am regretting that decision, especially since the peeps here are chowing down on pizza. But, what is up with the stingy distribution of sauce packets at Taco Bell drive thrus? I routinely ask (in a very polite manner), "May I please have several packets of mild sauce?" They hand me 2 packets. I ask for more sauce, the girl hands me ONE more packet. I used to accept this and drive off feling irritated, but not anymore!! I continue to ask for more sauce packets until I get a sufficient amount. I mean, a minimum of 3 sauce packets is required for each item to be eaten. To be honest, I like a little taco with my sauce. Is it just me?

Where does the time "guh?"

 

This is my favorite picture from my brother's wedding. Eric and Sarah have got to be the cutest couple ever. They truly complement one another. We are blessed to have such an amazing addition to the Danner family! We can't believe that Eric found someone as crazy as we are and that Sarah actually appreciates our insanity.

So, last night John and I met the newlyweds at Xochimilco for dinner. Tuesdays are half-priced fajitas, which means we can afford to go out to dinner! As always we were entertained by Eric and Sarah's goofiness. We relived our funny "guh" moments and got Sarah to admit that she thinks it is even a LITTLE bit funny. A few weeks ago we were all swimming and Eric asked, "Where did my towel guh?" He meant to say "go", but it didn't come out of his mouth all the way. I cracked up laughing at how funny it was (Sarah says that I only egg him on), and we spent the rest of the afternoon trying to find ways to use our new word: guh. A few nights later we retold the story at a family dinner and all laughed so hysterically that no one could eat. We even woke up Gavin! For some reason stories involving Eric get funnier over time. Gotta guh!

Back to work...

Sometimes you just have to experience something yourself to really understand what other people are talking about. I returned to work this week after an extended maternity leave. I remember Becky telling me how difficult it was for her to initially leave Brody and go back to work, but I did not think much of it.....until this past Friday. I kissed Gavin, got into my car and headed to work. As I merged onto 270 I felt overwhelmingly nauseous. I began to sob thinking that by the time I got back home Gavin would already be tucked in for the evening. Prior to becoming a mommy I couldn't comprehend those feelings- at least how strong they could be. It seems to be getting easier everyday, but I can surely sympathize better now with all those new moms out there who return to work.

On the upside....John is getting a lot of time with Gavin before he resumes the crazy hours associated with school. It is exciting to think that he will soon be a "third year" involved with hospital rotations. Watching him interact with the baby makes me melt....it is so sweet and sterling.

Anyone still there????

My poor little blog....so ignored and forgotten. I am usually not this erratic as my behavior is typically routine and orderly. I'm not quite sure why I've been gone so long, but starting today I am going to try to be better. After talking about the strange day I had yesterday, Kerri encouraged me to start blogging again. So, here I am-

People are not kidding when they say your life changes after you have a baby. I never imagined that things would change so much. My world now revolves around my little guy and I cannot recall what I ever did before he was around. Gavin is proof that life is precious and that our God is a very good God. I stare at him in awe. It is amazing to look into a baby's eyes and sometimes see John, sometimes see me, sometimes see his grandpa or grandma.....a true miracle.

Least favorite errand= getting oil changed in car

I received a compliment from a colleague at work today. She said, "Heidi, you just have it all together. You set quite the example." I've never been good at accepting compliments. My first reaction is to say, "yeah right" or "you must be thinking of someone else", and try to change the subject. However, today, I almost giggled at how funny it sounded to me. I sensed this as a genuine compliment, however, and I said, "thank you, that means a lot to me". It is funny to me that this statement came on a day when I felt a little crazed and disoriented. After working several overnight shifts, my body is trying to catapult back into being awake during the day. For anyone who has worked overnight shifts, you know that reorienting yourself can be a struggle. So, in addition to having my days and nights reversed, we have been busy planning our next move: across the country to the east coast. My grandma made the comment yesterday that I must be getting really excited about making the road trip out to the east coast. It hit me that I had not even given second thought to the fact that we are moving again and that John resumes classes in just a few days! Wow. I don't feel stressed, but rather, just a little out of sorts. The following story will be proof. I got my oil changed today. As I pulled up to the empty lane at Jiffy Lub, I immediately jumped out of my car. I do this because of a bad experience......A few years back I pulled into the same Jiffy Lube, and drove forward as the guy direted me to do so. At the last minute he yelled, "STOP STOP. HIT YOUR BRAKES". Apparently I was not centered on the lanes and was at risk for driving my car into the big hole in the ground that is supposed to be placed BETWEEN your tires. The guys working thought it was funny and did not try to hide the fact that they were making fun of me. I now avoid getting oil changed at all possible costs, but I knew that I could not avoid mom for much longer who has been telling me to get it changed. Anyway, after getting myself all prepared for getting the oil changed, I got my plan in order: I would drive up to the garage door opening, then jump out of my car and say that I need an oil change. This would avoid the possibility of ME having to drive over the big hole. I did as planned. I pulled up, saw the guy preparing to motion me forward, and jumped out of the vehicle before I made eye contact. He approached me and asked what services I needed. He said, "okay" to an oil change and I proceeded to the waiting area. I was so proud of myself for avoiding potential embarrassment and being "cool" that I did not notice the guy trying to get my attention again. I turned around and asked, "what?" He began talking in a different language, something about the oil grade and filter replacement and I started to panic. I thought, act cool Heidi, so I just started nodding and said, "uhh, sure, yeah that's cool". He talked right over me and it was at that moment that I realized he wasn't talking to me. He was talking to another employee who was behind me. I couldn't believe this was happening. Was this place jinxed? Was it me? Why do I act like such a moron at Jiffy Lube? Only Courtney could understand the situation. As I drove away I laughed outloud at the humor that I saw in the whole thing. This is why I was surprised to hear the compliment that I appear (key word is appear) to have it "all together". Looks can be quite deceiving........

CRABS!!!!!

When John and I were first dating, he introduced me to Guster, a band I had never heard of. Now, I rate their music at the top of my favorites list. There is a song they sing that starts out: "I woke up today, to everything gray....." It is a catchy song and the tune often gets stuck in my head. Well.... I woke up today....but everything was NOT gray. It was sunny, but that is beside the point. As I sat up in bed (John had already gone to school), I squinted as I thought I saw a bug running across the floor. I jumped up and could not believe my eyes. It was a sand crab! Still half asleep, I almost lost my balance as I scanned the room for a shoe. I intended to smash the crab (hey, my adrenaline was flowing), but instead I missed and only broke off one of its "crawlers". It crawled into the closet and out of sight. As my reticular activating system did its daily job, I realized that I was standing in the middle of the bedroom with a shoe in my hand, armed to destroy any other intruders. So far, so good..., no other critters IN the house today.

The Big 2-9

Happy Birthday to me! The best birthday present I could ever receive was having my parents here to celebrate it with me. Of course mom and dad spoiled me with the traditional birthday "week" celebration. Each day, starting with Day 1 of the birthday "week", I received all kinds of goodies! Then, on day 7, they surprised me with a ZEN! MP3 player! Later that day, we had dinner at "EATS", and John was able to join us after his evening class. Then we partied it up Cayman style back at home. Dad was a terrific bartender as always. Laura and Brenda came over and we had a ball! I am blessed to have met such good friends here, and I could not have been happier to have us all together on my birthday. All the fun made me forget that I am a year closer to 30!

Let the fun begin!!!!!

I am so grateful for such awesome parents. They arrived on Thursday, June 1st, in the afternoon. John had class, so I headed to the airport to greet them. While waiting, I decided to walk around the side of the building to where I could see the passengers coming off the plane. I felt like a little kid when I spotted them coming down the stairs from the airplane. I started jumping up and down waving crazily, yelling "MOM! DAD!" (like they could hear me). In the midst of my excitement, I felt a stinging sensation on my foot. When I looked down, my eyes spotted ants crawling all over me. It startled me AND it hurt, so I was then jumping up and down trying to get my shoe off in a hurry. It wasn't until after my performance of the Ants-Go-Away-Dance that I noticed several security staff staring at me from the other side of the fence. One guy was laughing without any effort to hide his amusement. Covered with sweat and insect bites, I put my shoe back on and walked coolly back to greet mom and dad. I was so excited to see them! We headed home from the airport and they both took in the initial uneasiness of traveling on the left side of the road. It was fun for me to see their reactions, for it wasn't that long ago that it was me experiencing the same thing for the first time.

Company!!!

I could not be more excited! My mom and dad are coming to Cayman to visit for a week. We have promised them sunshine, a beautiful ocean view and a laid back vacation they both deserve. Time for them to get away from a barking dog, a yelping puppy, inspections, griping parents, hit-and-run drivers, etc.....

I look forward to being hostess to them for a change and showing them the way we live here. My friend Laura also has friends visiting this week. We had to laugh at the fact that our apartments have never looked so clean.

I can't wait for them to see the view from our front door. Although I will be ready to get back to the U.S. when our time is up here, I know for a fact that I will miss starting out each day by looking out to that beautiful, blue Caribbean Sea.

Did you miss me?

Yes, I know, it has been a long time since you've seen something new from me.

I've heard that you are sick of looking at this cute little dog, so I'm back, with a new picture. Are you happy now Kerri? :)

Back on the blog and back to Cayman. It seems so much easier to write here. No pressures, no worries, everything slows down and relaxation sets in.....well, not for everyone, like John, and the other medical students who inhabit the island. They continue to experience the daily stress of trying to stay afloat during their quest to become physicians. The rest of us seem to slow down to the pace of the island and take things one at a time. I realized during my flight back here that this is my last stretch of time to live on this beautiful island. In August, we leave it all behind to head to an entirely different climate. I made a vow to myself to savor each day here and enjoy the luxury that living on the ocean provides. Each morning I look out at that gorgeous warm blue ocean water and say a prayer thanking God for all the wonderful things I have been blessed with in my life. I think I finally learned how to laugh at all the things that can go wrong here, like our car not starting and being stuck in traffic or unreliable Internet service. It is all part of the package, one that, in the distant future will all seem like a blur as we pack our bags and head north again.

My Overnight Plight

The overnight shift at the crisis line.... what fun! It is actually a nice change of pace to work this shift since the call volume is low and the atmosphere is quiet. It always amazes me how many people are up at all hours of the night with complaints of insomnia and how much sleep plays a role in our wellbeing. I think about how I've felt the next day after a night of not sleeping well and how grateful I am that it is not a regular occurrence. Sleep deprivation can make people ugly!

Sleep disorders affect up to 70 million people in the United States. This costs about $100 billion each year in accidents, medical bills and lost work. (Statistic from Brain Facts, Society for Neuroscience, 2002)

Let's see what else I can intrigue you with.... Sleepwalking is also known as "somnambulism"; sleeptalking is also known as "somniloquy."

My expert tip of the day: Get enough sleep. Brilliant, eh?

John's homecoming

John and I spent the last 2 days at my parent's house. Sasha was elated to see him again and she rarely left his side. At bedtime, she squeezed in between us and it was nice to have the 3 of us all together again. That night, Eric and Sarah came out to welcome John home and congratulate him on completion of his first semester of medical school. We also celebrated his "birthday week" with gifts from mom and dad. John shyly opened his gifts that included a brick of cheddar cheese, white t-shirts and a gift certificate to Circuit City. John entertained us with riddles that resulted in me actually getting a headache from laughing so hard. Sarah is just too funny for her own good. We were only allowed to ask yes/no questions in an attempt to solve John's riddles. The game was fun and we now have enough inside jokes to last us for quite awhile. The question, "were they molested?" still evokes uncontrollable laugher when I picture Eric asking it. The next day we headed to grandma and grandpa's house and they too were thrilled to have him back. Being at home now provides an even greater sense of security and comfort. Seeing the beautifully lit and decorated Christmas tree, the wrapped presents underneath of all shapes and sizes, and listening to Christmas carols during dinner paints a picture of what I consider heavenly. I am truly blessed to have such an incredible family.

WAFFLE FRIES!

Last night after work I headed down to the city to meet two dear friends (Renee and Kerri) for dinner. I felt nostalgic as I passed the "Laclede Station Road" exit on Highway 44, the way I took home so many times. The fond memories I have of my first apartment (the GT crizzo as I like to call it) in the big happenin' city of St. Louis all started to come back to me. I thought about how much I miss good ol' Georgetown....the red brick buildings, the leaves that pile high in the fall, the nights that John and I sat on the patio listening to music and conversing about life. As I cruised along the highway I remembered how giddy I felt the first time I wrote my return address using "St. Louis, Missouri". How silly is that!

Anyway, we met at "Biggies", one of our favorite places to go for waffle fries and unlimited refills of superb iced tea. All week long we sent emails about ordering those famous waffle fries. However, upon ordering, I blurted out, "baked ravioli please" and disregarded my week long quest for criss-cross potatoes. Dinner was delicious and I had a blast catching up with the girls. Upon leaving, I told Renee I intended to follow her down the side streets to the main road. She relayed to me her route and told me to follow her until the road came to a dead end. At this point I was to go right. I didn't listen. She turned at the first street we came to, and I didn't. I honked, waved and coasted right on by. As soon as I did it I realized that I had not followed directions. I busted out in laughter as my cell phone rang. On the other end I heard Renee's familiar hearty laugh and we could barely get words out as we giggled about what had just happened. I laughed about it for most of the drive home. I laughed again on my drive into work this morning. To me, this is what life is all about. Those special moments shared with loved ones, the times when "you just had to be there" to get the humor in the situation.

the JPH

I miss my husband!!!! This is the longest period of time we have ever been apart and it is agony!! I can attest that the old saying is true.....absence makes the heart grow fonder. I now have 6 pictures of John in my bedroom so that I can be reminded of his gorgeous blue eyes and sweet, reassuring smile until he finishes that grueling first semester of medical school. Next week the JPH will be reunited. I have a feeling that the next week of waiting is going to feel like a long, long time.