Everything I need to know about raising a boy, I learned in ballet class

Davin, our avid little hoopster, looks to make anything into a basketball hoop. When we play with play dough, he asks that Chris or I make a little basketball hoop and basketballs out of the dough so that he can make baskets (he also asks for soccer goals and balls, football uprights and balls, and golf balls and club). If his basketball hoop is not around but he has a ball, Davin has found that Mom makes an excellent basketball hoop. I round my arms in front of me, making a perfect first position (one of the positions of the arms for all of you non-ballet dancers). Like my old ballet teacher, Davin will check my form and correct my position if he thinks it isn't correct. He then starts to shoot away. Unlike his basketball hoop at home, his "portable" hoop chimes with praise at each shot, will help him retrieve balls, and (at least at the moment) has a large baby bump which effectively redirects the ball back to him after his shot. Someday, when he is a famous baller, I'm sure I'll look back fondly on these moments.

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Rowan Isaac Rees

The title of this blog also happens to be the name of our new baby. Rowan Isaac. Rowan is a Celtic name that means "little red one", and Isaac is a Hebrew name that means laughter. His initials (RIR) also spell the Portuguese verb "to laugh". So hopefully he will be a fun kid. We think he is already. He arrived today, November 28, 2007 at 2:15 pm (or thereabouts - I'll have to check the exact time). Both he and Katie are doing fine and resting a bit. He weighs 9 lbs, 2 oz., and as you can see from the picture, he has beautiful blond hair. He is a good little boy so far, and we're excited to have him in our family. Davin is with our good friends, the Smiths, this afternoon, but we think he understands a bit and is excited to meet his new little brother later this afternoon. We would like to thank you all for your love and your prayers, and hopefully we'll get a chance to talk to and see many of you soon so you can meet our little guy. If you want to see m...

Labor Day = No Labor

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Something to say

We were there in the kitchen, Rowan and I, when out of nowhere came this sound: “ma ma ba ma.” I stopped for a moment and repeated the sound to Rowan. He looked back at me and did it again: “ma ma ma ba.” This funny laugh bubbled out of me, the kind of laugh when you witness a miracle, something that someone told you was possible but you weren’t quite sure it was, but there it was in front of you, that perfect little miracle. I made the sound to Rowan again and he repeated it again. Picking him up, I spun him around, kissing him repeatedly. It was like a scene from a movie. I’m sure there were violins crescendo-ing somewhere and the audience was getting teary. “Be patient!” they told me, “it could be six months before he makes any kind of sound.” I was all prepared to be patient and I still am. There is a lot left to do. Even after this afternoon’s happy moment, I told myself that it could have been an accident or coincidence, but when he made the noises for Chris later this evening, I...

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