An UPdate

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I have not been keeping up! I have been absent from the web for two weeks. That is 10% of Paul’s life (he’s about 20 weeks old now). Here is an update.

Up in the Atmosphere

Paul has spent 46 hours up in the air in the past three weeks. Here’s the rundown of where he flew and how long it took:

  • Melbourne to Sydney: 1.5 hours
  • Sydney to San Francisco: 12 hours
  • San Francisco to Chicago: 5 hours
  • Chicago to Dallas: 2 hours
  • Dallas to Denver: 1.5 hours
  • Denver to Salt Lake City: 1 hour
  • Salt Lake City to Chicago: 3.5 hours
  • Chicago to San Francisco: 5 hours
  • San Francisco to Sydney: 13 hours
  • Sydney to Melbourne: 1.5 hours

    • Total: 46 hours in the air

Note: These totals do not include the time spent sitting in airplanes waiting to take off or waiting to disembark; they only include the flight times between the destinations. These totals also do not include the time spent sitting in airports, driving to airports, and packing to go to the airport (although Paul didn’t do much in the way of helping pack). All in all, we spent a lot of time travelling lately! I am so grateful that Paul was such a good sport.

Family Roundup

Paul has met all 5 of his grandparents/great-grandparents, 10 of 11 aunts and uncles (although some were only briefly met so there was no time to spit up on them), and all 8 of his cousins. (Uncle Carl, we missed you!)

Upset

Today I took Paul in for his next round of immunizations. I decided to have it done today rather than Friday (the next available day) because his schedule is already off; why not? He screamed while he got the shots, but he calmed down relatively well. He seems extra tired and a little sore. I think his extra chubbiness might help him not hurt as much as he did last time. I am glad it didn’t appear to be as bad as last time: I felt so mean!

Up Next

I have about 30 pictures to post.

For some reason, I thought I’d have time to post pictures while I was on my trip. I didn’t. In the coming days, I’ll be processing pictures of Paul with his Grandpa Sorenson, his cousins Daniel and Jessica, his Papa Paul and Grandma Peggy, his four Reid cousins, and his cousins Leah and Samuel. I also have a new family picture. Unfortunately, I only caught a few of the aunts and uncles on camera.

Check back often—and scroll down to make sure you didn’t miss a post. I’ll post the pictures as I get to them. (Each picture takes 10-30 minutes to process and it’s a matter of finding time amid all the other errands I need to do this week and next.)

Airplane!

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Paul did not cry or fuss very much during his first 24 hours of airplane travel, much to his parents’ delight. He slept a lot. A fellow traveler congratulated us on having such a “good baby.” Does that mean that he would have been a “bad” baby had he cried? Would that have meant that we are “bad” parents?

After day one in his home country, Paul has met 2 of 5 grandparents/great-grandparents, 2 of 11 aunts/uncles, and 2 of 8 cousins.

We’ll make sure to take pictures (I haven’t really done so yet). I’ll post them when I get a chance to do so!

The Opposite of an Epiphany

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Epiphany, noun; 3 a (1): a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something (2): an intuitive grasp of reality through something (as an event) usually simple and striking (3): an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure b: a revealing scene or moment

When I was a young girl, my family went to Nauvoo at least once a year. I was very familiar with the shops and houses and streets, and every visit, a little bit more was developed to be like Old Nauvoo. I enjoyed those visits.

We always started at the Visitors’ Center. We’d watch the orientation video and we’d go on a tour. I was always impressed by a particular display stand. It was a display of the golden plates underneath some glass. A plaque next to the display said something like this:

The Golden Plates: Joseph Smith translated the writings on the golden plates into what became the Book of Mormon.

When I was 14 or 15, I was sitting in a Sunday school class. We were talking about church history. I don’t recall what the subject was on that particular day, but it occurred to me: the plates in the Nauvoo Visitors’ Center were not the real golden plates. It was a moment of realization: “I can’t believe I just figured that out.”

I can’t bring myself to call it an epiphany because the result was realizing how ridiculous my prior understanding had been. It wasn’t an “intuitive grasp”; it was a “wow, I’m slow” moment. So I’ll call it an “opposite of an epiphany.”

I had another “opposite of an epiphany” the other day. I was singing Paul a song about Noah and telling him about all the animals he put on the ark. When I got to kangaroos, I stopped.

“Wait a minute,” I said. “Kangaroos are native to Australia alone. How did Noah get kangaroos in the Middle East?”

My husband Looked at me. “What do you think? Do you really think Noah took two of every single species of animal on the ark?”

And then I had the same feeling as when I realized the golden plates aren’t in the Visitors’ Center: Noah’s story, and the entire Bible, is of one people in one nation. We don’t really have to take it completely literally.

Of course, it doesn’t matter where the real golden plates are. My testimony of the translation doesn’t depend on the physical plates. It’s the same thing with Noah. Did Noah take kangaroos on the ark? Did the Lord cover 197 million square miles (the entire surface of the earth) with water? I don’t know. Yes, it’s true that “With God, nothing shall be is impossible” (Luke 1:37), but in this particular story, I don’t think it happened literally and it really doesn’t matter if it did or not. My testimony doesn’t depend on it.

On my last visit to Nauvoo, I didn’t see the golden plates display; the Visitors’ Center has been completely reorganized since I was a young girl.

But these “opposite of an epiphany” moments are reminding me that I have a lot of growing up to do: Was I really an adult before I realized that? What other things am I not realizing?

Have you had any “opposite of an epiphany” moments?

Four-Month Checkup

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Since we’ll be gone next week, we had Paul’s four-month update yesterday. It’s only been three weeks since the last one, but here are his stats:

  • Weight: 5860 grams (gain of 640 grams; 15th percentile)
  • Length: 61 cm (25th percentile)
  • Head circumference: 41 cm (25th percentile)

Here’s what he can do (taken from his four-month “gross motor development” page in his Child Health Record):

Supine (on his back)

  • Head in midline
  • Waves arms and legs symmetrically
  • Hands open loosely
  • Pulled to sit, no head lag
  • Head held erect and steady for many seconds
  • Ventral suspension, head about body

Prone (on his belly)

  • Lifts head and chest well up
  • Standing, will take some weight (he’s really good at this!)

Vision and fine motor

  • Visually very alert
  • Follows adult’s movement within visual field
  • Follows dangling ball horizontally side to side and vertically from chest to brow
  • Converges eyes as dangling ball moves up to face
  • Defensive blink shown
  • Holds ratter for a few moments with meaningful grasp
  • Watches own hand movements in midline

Language, Speech and Hearing

  • Responds to sounds
  • Turns eyes and head toward sound
  • Eye contact and turn talking with carer
  • Vocalizes using single vowel sounds
  • 2 or more different sounds

Social behavior and play

  • Reacts to familiar situations—coos, smiles, excited movements

He “failed” the rolling prone to supine milestone, but he’s not yet four months. Maybe he’ll make it in the next few weeks. (He rolled over a few weeks ago, but he’s acting like he’s forgotten now, so I don’t think it counts…)

Australia Christmas 2007: Mt. Buller Area

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Note: This post was originally posted April 12, 2008. I have posted dated it to be closer to the Christmas holiday when the photos were taken.

I have taken quite a long time to go through my photos from Christmas. It is very interesting to revisit these photos long after taking them. I find that, while my husband enjoys the landscape photos, I prefer the more abstract close-ups of things: tree stumps, flowers, posts, fences, windows, etc. I don’t feel like the landscapes are my favorites. I don’t know what one does with a photograph of a post (one probably won’t put it on a wall in a frame) but I like that photo the best.

We spent Christmas Eve near Mt. Buller (pronounced Bull-er; we kept saying Bueller and getting weird looks) in the High Country.

The idea was that we’d get to the summit of Mt. Buller in time for sunrise Christmas Eve morning. Well, we got there in time; however, it was completely foggy. We could barely sense the clouds lightening as the sun came up. We drove back down the mountain. It was beautiful coming down out of the fog. By 8 a.m. or so, we were driving by a lovely spot in the road so we stopped for photographs.

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After a while there, we headed to Pickerings Hut. This is a cattleman’s hut, much like Wallaces Hut. It is on the side of a river. I thought the hut was quite ugly. That’s one reason I kept it in black and white. I kept finding other things to take pictures of there. I don’t know why, but there was a random clothesline with clothes pins on it right behind the hut.

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As we drove back to Mansfield (where we were staying), we saw a beautiful field, called Sheepyard Flat. I didn’t take many pictures (because Paul required attention) but I did see kangaroos hopping down the hill to the right. I took my favorite picture–the post.

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That night we visited Craigs Hut for sunset.

The next morning, Christmas, we were too tired to get up for sunrise. We had a great day relaxing at the apartment. That night, we headed back to Mt. Buller for sunset pictures. This time it was clear and beautiful. I’ve included our family picture, too, even though I know you’ve seen it before.

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We had a wonderful Christmas. I’m glad Paul was such a great sport with all of our photographing. He got along really well in the carrier, and he slept a lot.

I suspect he won’t sleep quite so much next vacation!

Dreaming and Singing

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Some times when Paul is asleep, his mouth opens in a wide smile and he giggles to himself. He stays asleep.

Some times when Paul is sad, I sing him a song. The other day he was wearing a Noah’s ark outfit, with animals on it. As I was changing his diaper, he was very cranky. I began to sing “Rise and Shine”.

Paul stopped crying and smiled at me. I sang it to him a number of times through the day and he always seemed happy to hear it.

Ever since he was born, I’ve developed the habit of singing him “Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam” and “Jesus Said Love Everyone” and “I am a Child of God” at least once a day. Even though I don’t have an incredibly beautiful voice and I’m probably off key, he usually calms down when I begin to sing.

Ryan thinks babies dream in colors and faces. They don’t have words, but they have colors. I like to think that Paul dreams in song as well. He may not have the words, but the sounds and the love behind them are pleasant to him. I like to think that he smiles in his sleep because he’s thinking of music.

How do you think a baby dreams?

Healing

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The surgeon cut me open four times. Three cuts were half an inch. The last was one inch. He removed one of my organs (my gallbladder) through one of them.

For one week, I left the waterproof bandages on. I had bled, and the bandages were weary. My muscles were sore, like someone had punched me in the gut. I rested. But then I stood up. I swept the floor. I picked up my baby, and I went to the grocery store. I lived.

After one week, a nurse removed the bandages and the stitches.

Now, four bright red lines mark the spots. The skin has come together. There is no more blood oozing, there is no more pain. My body has healed itself.

As I look at my week-old wounds, I think one word: Miracle. My body is a miracle.

Your body, whatever its natural gifts, is a magnificent creation of God. It is a tabernacle of flesh–a temple for your spirit. A study of your body attests to its divine design.

Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.

Mosiah 4:9

Watching my body heal has strengthened my testimony of God’s majesty.

Australia Christmas 2007: Wallace Hut

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Wallace Hut is the oldest of the cattleman’s huts still standing in the High Country. It was built in 1889 by the Wallace brothers from slabs of snowgum trees. The roof has been replaced, but otherwise, it’s still the original building.

I think this is a beautiful hut, out in the middle of the snowgums in the High Country. We visited Wallace Hut on Boxing Day. (I know, I’ve been holding them for a long time! And I still have more pictures from our Christmas road trip.)

As I processed the pictures, I couldn’t decide which I liked better: the color versions or the monochrome versions. I am not a very experienced photographer. My understanding is that monochrome is preferred when there is contrast in the frame: when the photograph is left in black and white, the textures are better revealed. I think there is delightful contrast on the building and reflecting in the windows. However, as I look at these pictures, I also like the contrast of the green grass with the reddish-brown building.

Here are four pictures in both color and monochrome.

Which do you prefer for each shot: color or monochrome?

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