3 Months Already

It's hard to believe, but Patrick turned 3 months old last Sunday. Here are some pictures I took on Friday while I was babysitting. He's getting to be fun. He coos and "talks" and smiles and laughs. He has found his hands, but can't quite make them do everything he wants. He's very good at getting them in his mouth, though. He is already fighting sleep. When he starts to nod off, he gets really mad and starts crying extraordinarily loud. It won't be later, but right now it is quite funny.

Yesterday

For my first time ever, I went snow-shoeing yesterday. I have been trying to do this for several weeks, but something always happened to prevent it. I finally made it yesterday and it was so much fun. Hard, and tiring, but fun.

I went with a couple of friends, Jesse and Julie Hall. When we left town it was so foggy we could hardly see. As we started climbing the mountain we left the fog behind. The weather was ideal for snow-shoeing. The sun was shining and it was about 58 degrees. The sky was azure blue with hardly a cloud. After we started the climb, I soon shed my jacket.

We were climbing in Kings Canyon National Park, going to Panoramic Point. The climb was 1,000 feet in 2.5 miles with a round trip of 5 miles. It was steep and I had to stop to rest quite often but I was determined to finish. We started climbing about 10:15 am, and made it to the top about 12:30 pm. As I was climbing, an old song that we used to sing when I was in youth choir came to mind. "Climbing up the mountain, trying to reach the top.....almost finished my battle, gone half way and I just can't stop. At the end of the mountain there is faith and trust, I can see Jesus waiting there to meet us. I thank God, I've almost reached the top." That was what I was thinking as I was climbing. Sometimes, (but not always)living for God can seem to be all uphill, but it will be worth it when we reach the top!

And it was!! It was so beautiful looking at that panoramic scene. We could see Hume Lake and all the surrounding mountains in the distance. We spread out our mats, took off our snow shoes and sat down and ate lunch. We stayed up there for a couple of hours taking pictures, and resting before we headed back down. As I was trying to put my snow shoes back on, I thought I would lean up against a tree for support. Ha! NOT! Near the tree the snow was so soft, that I sank up to my knees and Julie had to help me out. Of course, she had to take pictures of me before she would help. It was so funny! Going down was much easier (but still not easy) and didn't take as long.

As we were driving to the mountains we passed an old fireplace in the middle of a meadow. I told Jesse that I wanted to stop on the way back and get pictures of it. I don't know the history of it, but it appears that a house either burned down, or was knocked down and left the steps and fireplace standing. It is just the kind of thing that I like to photograph. We did stop on the way home and I got several pictures of it. I also got a few shots of the beautiful sunset that we saw on the way home.

Here is a slide show of a FEW of the pictures I took. Enjoy...

The Language of the Fan

One of the courtship rituals during Victorian times was the language of the fan. Here is some of that language.

I desire your acquaintance.....Carry fan in left hand in front of face
I wish to speak to you.........Close fan
Follow me......................Carry fan in right hand in front of face
Wait for me....................Open fan wide
You are too willing............Carry fan in right hand
Kiss me........................Hold handle to lips
We are watched.................Twirl fan in left hand
Yes............................Rest fan on right cheek
No.............................Rest fan on left cheek
I love you.....................Draw fan across the cheek
Do you love me?................Present the fan closed
I love another.................Twirl fan in right hand
You have changed...............Draw fan across forehand
I wish to get rid of you.......Place fan on left ear
I hate you.....................Draw fan through the hand
I am sorry.....................Draw fan across the eyes
You are cruel..................Open fan across the eyes
I am engaged...................Fan very quickly
I am married...................Fan very slowly
We will be friends.............Drop the fan

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day

Playing Catch-Up

I think it's past time for an update on this blog. All two of my readers are probably wondering what's up over here.

We had a great Christmas. It was at my house this year. We had my parents, siblings and the offspring of almost all. The only people missing were my sister, Verlaine, and two of my grandchildren. We had ages from 90 years old,(my Dad) to 1 month old (Baby Patrick)and everything in between. It was Patrick's first Christmas, and I was so busy holding him that I forgot to take very many pictures, but here are a few.

My son Ryan is back in school at Fresno State University majoring in Marine Biology. Because of his interest in this field, he has chosen to become a volunteer at the Aquarium in Monterey. He had a meeting to go to on Jan 5th, so I went with him and we spent a couple of nice, lazy days there. First we went on the 17 mile drive. I hadn't been in several years, and Ryan had never been. It was foggy in Fresno when we left, but it was the most beautiful weather you could ever order up when we got to Monterey. It was sunny and cool, but not cold. Perfect! We stopped at Spanish Bay and had a picnic lunch, then continued on the 17 mile drive. By then it was getting dusk and Ryan had to be at his meeting. While he was in his meeting, I walked around the wharf and Cannery Row taking photos. It still was not freezing cold, and it was nice to walk around. The next day, we went to Pacific Grove and just wandered about taking pictures. We also went to the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary there in Pacific Grove. We saw lots of butterflies flitting around in all their beauty. Here is a slide show of those two days.

Last Saturday, I went to Nathaniel's wrestling tournament. It had been raining all week before, but that day it was not. The rain had washed the skies clean and you could see the mountains very clearly. It was a gorgeous day!

Patrick was 2 months old on January 21st. He had his 2 month appointment last Monday. He weighed 16 pounds, 15 ounces (1 ounce shy of 17 lbs.) and was 25 1/2 inches long. Needless to say, he is a BIG BOY!!! I knew he was huge. My arms were aching for quite a while after holding him a good bit on Saturday. Here are a few pictures from that day.












Nathaniel turned 10 on Dec. 21st, Alayna turned 4 on Jan 1st, Mom turned 83 on Jan 10th,and Caleb turned 6 on Jan 20th. And time marches on....

This is cool.....Enjoy

This and That

It's a busy time of year. Do I hear an "Amen"?

I've been so busy, I haven't even bought ONE Christmas present. Don't worry, I will. I'm a Grandma and "Auntie" I have four grandchildren and two little nieces that I would NOT disappoint!

Here's what I've been doing......

Cuddling baby Patrick.




Decorating my house, and getting it ready for Christmas. We will be having family Christmas at my house this year.




Taking pictures of the moon...(and the next door neighbor's house).





Walking Christmas Tree Lane and taking pictures.

But, for the last several days facial tissue has been my best friend. I have a horrible cold/bronchitis/pneumonia bug raging. (Well, ok, probably not pneumonia.) I really think I may sneeze or cough a lung up soon, though. I cannot go shopping until I get over this. If I have to, I will find some elves to help. I go to the doctor tomorrow to see if I'll live...

Hope you all are having a great Holiday Season! (Please pray for me.)

HE'S HERE!

After 34 hours of labor, Patrick Aaron Doherty finally made his entrance into the world today at 6:09 P.M.







He weighed in at a whopping 9 pounds, 10 ounces and was 22 5/8 inches long. He has a head full of hair. At first his hair looked really dark, but after it was washed you can see that it is actually a light brown...for now. He is very alert and has had no trouble latching on for his food, for which he started begging almost immediately! (Just like his Daddy, this little boy.)




We are so thankful that Mommy was actually able to finally deliver this precious one, without tearing or even an episiotomy. They were being very careful with the pitosin, trying not to overstimulate her uterus since Nathaniel was born by C-section. That was one month away from being 10 years ago, so she really wanted to try having a VBAC (vaginal birth after Cesarean) this time. It didn't look good there for a while, but then finally, there he was. They will probably get to go home tomorrow. Baby and company are doing great!

We give a great big THANK YOU to all of you who were praying. We really appreciate the prayers. This Grandma is exhausted and is going to bed now!




One side note: This is rather special to me. Today would have been my Grandfather's 105th birthday, so Patrick and Rev. Jesse Hawthorne share the same birthday. I love it!