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Our Holland Lop
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So this is Chad blogging in case you were wondering. So its gonna be Chad-style. Whatever that means.
So let me tell you a bit about how my little Lop is growing up.
She's rad. She's over five months now.
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At the WINDY Pali Look-out with Auntie Hannah
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She can scoot around a bit now, but she kinda only has one gear -- reverse. When a toy is out of her reach and its in front of her, she honks at me or Jenn to move it to her. But if its behind her . . . no sweat, . . . can.
She's sitting up a little now too. But if she leans too far to the left or right . . . timber! So make sure there is padding.
She's a smiler. She is amused by everything and everyone. She has this sort of half-smile as she sits and watches people. She loves things like balloons and palm trees fluttering in the wind. Totally gets her giggling. She loves her little cousins. The ones that are sweet to her. But she doesn't know how she feels about Uncle Kelii. He's a bit intense for her I think. She's used to her boring dad.
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| Lop and her Auntie Hannah |
Sometimes I come home from work all fired up about some client or thing that happened and over dinner I'm telling a story to Jenn and my voice is louder and Jenn and I are pretty serious and then I look over at Holland sitting there in her little blue bumbo and she's totally smiling at me. She thinks I'm funny when I get fired up. I have to ask her, "what's funny about this?! This isn't funny!" and she just giggles. Talk about a reality check from our little girl. We're lucky to have this Lop.
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| Little Surfer Girl |
She's a total momma's girl. The other night Jenn left her with me while Jenn took Hannah to the PCC Night Show. It was only for a few hours. Holland and I were doing great. She loved dinner time. I gave her some rice cereal. Loved it. I gave her a bath. She loved it. I played with her and dressed her for bed and we were doing great. But when her head and eyelids were heavy and she was ready for bed. She looked around for mom and was inconsolable. I tried everything I can think of. But nothing would console her but mom. You'd think most kids would wear themselves out crying and fall asleep. But Holland has never done that. Not once. She can really hang in there until she gets what she wants. She knows exactly what it is too. No alternative will do. And you can't distract her. I prayed for a head-strong girl before she got here . . . and we got one. She's a tough cookie. As soon as Jenn picked her up, the tears stopped. And she smiled. Like a light switch. What a girl.
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| With Hannah and Mom at the Dole Plantation |
She's delightful and smart. Totally interested in the world around her. Loves the five toys we have for her. Loves the ABC book Jenn picked up for her. She can lie on her tummy and play for a whole 20 minutes sometimes. Loves her stuffed monkey, Winston. Loves to sleep with a blanket over her face at night. That makes Jenn nervous. Sometimes she sleeps between us on our little bed and she'll reach over and feel for me in the night. I love it. She'll bury her head in my armpit, hold on to my shirt, or sometimes my finger and sleep there all night. In the morning, Jenn will kiss her head and say, "she smells like deodorant." Sorry. Better than B.O., right?
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| My two girls. |
She still loves her bath more than anything. She loves the water, she's learning how to splash. She used to just lie there. Well, those days are over. Sits up and touches everything and splashes. And she loves to be sung to. I sing to her everynight and it really is my favorite thing too. She listens to me so intensely and smiles. She loves music. We play music videos sometimes on YouTube and she loves those too. She loves the hymns at church and loves music in the car. I sing to her my own version of "Lida Rose" from the Music Man everynight. But its "Holland Rose, I'm home again Rose." I like being a dad. Its the best.
She got her immunizations and the doctor isn't worried about the hemangiomas on her tongue and right hand. We just need to watch it to see if it gets bigger and so far it hasn't. Doc thinks it'll go away on its own.
She's in the 96th percentile for her height and 50th percentile for her head size, 70th percentile for her weight. She's a long, lean baby. And has a cute round face. When Jenn took her in to get her shots, she cried when the shots were administered and stopped immediately when Jenn picked her up. When Jenn got her back to the car, Jenn tried nursing her and she bit Jenn twice, then looked up at Jenn and smiled. Jenn was fine. Hannah was there and she started cracking up because Holland is such a firecracker.
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| She loved being held up in the wind at the Pali Look-out. |
I don't know if two parents could love a child more than we do. We love her to bits. She brings us so much joy. I can't imagine my life without her. We're so grateful Heavenly Father sent her to us for this time.
Other news . . .
We're going back to BYU-Provo. We bought tickets to head back to Sacramento on August 24th. We'll pack up the truck at Dori's house and then head out across that wonderful Nevada desert that I love so much. No seriously. I do love it and Jenn always makes fun of me. I love Nevada. Ask me why some time and I'll talk your ear off. I'm looking forward to the road trip. I'm trying to convince Jenn to take Highway 50. I'm excited to go back to school. We've prayed and prayed about this decision. We've made a lot of sacrifices up to this point to make this happen and we're really only doing it because it feels like its what the Lord wants us to do. I only make this note public because I want our friends to know that we are really trying these days to live the gospel in deed and we are excited about the adventure of living by faith. I know we have received a lot of counsel as to the contrary. That maybe we should stick with the job and had not sold the house. Jenn and I know we aren't the most "in-tune" or "confident" people in the world, still, we're trying to be prayerful in our life decisions. 36 years old and heading back to school to study English and writing. Crazy? It should be a great story no matter how it turns out. Thank you to all of you who have been supportive and understanding.
We want our family members to know that we love and appreciate you all. Grant was here this last month or so and we loved having him in our lives again. He's such a gentle and sweet young man. Obedient and without guile. Big and strong too. And handsome. And has great hair. The girls better watch out. Hannah was here too. She was wonderful company, a delight. I hope she had fun. We enjoyed her. Hannah, you have great hair too.
Nothing is more important than family and the gospel.
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| She wore this outfit to church. She stuck out like a sore thumb. A white baby in a Rainbo-Brite outfit among all the brown people in Hauula. You shoulda seen it. |
We will miss Jared's family and Megan's family and David's family when we leave. We've loved every minute of our time with them and their children. But we are also excited to be near our folks and Jenn's family for a year or so while we go to school. We've loved our summer here in Hawaii and all the friends we've made and all the fun experiences we've had.
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| She's rad. |
