Doris's Vehicular Adventures and a Water Baby

**WARNING: Long Long Long Post!

I have been hinting in different places (Facebook, this blog, in different emails to folk) for the past week and a half about my driving a manual transmission instead of my regular trusty automatic vehicle. So, here is a story about that and then a different story with pics. It's a long post, so go get a drink or a snack, and then get comfy before you keep reading.

My 1994 Nissan Altima, while it is still alive and doing very well, has not had air conditioning for at least 8 years. Something about a valve that needs to be replaced in the middle of a long system of coils to keep the freon from leaking out...very labor intensive and would need lots of money. Well, I have been okay with it for the past 8 summers, but I knew that it would not be okay to put an infant into a car that was cooking at 90+ degrees. Tim's 1997 Jetta has luxarious air conditioning, but it's stick shift. He tried to teach me a few of times when we were first married, but I would eventually quit. Something about using both feet and both hands while driving made me feel like an uncoordinated and lethal octopus. But now, with a baby ... well, it's true that a mother makes sacrifices for her baby. We agreed that I would learn to drive his car for the summer so Evie could have air conditioning when she is traveling with me during the day (to work, meetings, etc.). So, Tim took me out to a parking lot on a Saturday where we spent 3 hours practicing. I wasn't confident, but at least I had the basics.

Day 1: Then two Sundays ago, he handed me the keys to his car and announced that he was taking the baby to his church on the train. I was to drive his car to my church and then we would meet up afterward to go to the Cookman picnic. All I can say is that I made it to church alive. I was terrified, I was honked and yelled at all the way to church, people passed me on the left on a two-lane street, but at least I made it.

Day 2: I had to drive to work on Monday with the baby in the car. Mind you, this is ONLY Day 2. It was also forecasted to be 99 degrees or higher, which reminded me of why I was driving Tim's car in the first place. So, when we left the house around 9 a.m., it was already 80 degrees and climbing. I made it 8 minutes away from the house when the car died after I crossed an intersection. Yes, TOTALLY DIED. I was panicked--day 2 of driving the car and I kill it? The engine kept cutting off after I turned it on (and I had the clutch down so I wasn't inadvertently killing the engine). I leaned out the window and asked a pedestrian to help push the car and when I looked up, there were three guys out of nowhere pushing the car. Then another car pushed me the rest of the way to a gas station. Evie and I stood in the air-conditioned gas station for an hour and a half while I called back and forth between Tim, Roadside Service Assistance, my work to make arrangements for taking the day off, and answering machines of friends to get a ride home. I finally got a hold of some seminary friends who lived down the street from the gas station.

Christian and Sheila also met and married while at seminary, and now have a cute boy, Emmanuel (Manny for short) who is 15 months old. After picking us up, they invited us over for a pool party later that afternoon--Of Course We Would Love To! A pool party is the perfect way to shrug off a failed attempt to be an independent driver of a manual transmission for the sake of her daughter's well-being!

So, we hung out in Manny's gigantic baby pool with our feet in 60 degree water. It felt sooooo goooood, made you forget that it was about 100 degrees. Isn't Manny cute? I kinda cut off Sheila in the picture, who is on the right. This was the only picture I could get of the two bebes looking at me.

For her summer swimwear, Evie is sporting a flowery pink string bikini top with a white swim diaper so she can make the statement that "I'm confident and cute when I am wet!"

Evie loved the cool water but was absolutely clear: Do Not Try To Sit Her Down In The Cold Water. Her little bottom is only regulated for water at 85 degrees or warmer. So I held her so she could stand in the water. She stood for so long, that her knees would start to bend, and her little tush would start to dip into the water. The minute she realized what was going on, she would stiffen her legs again. So, I gave her a break and let her sit on me. I never made it into the water past my feet so I left my tank top on.

Tim came over after work and a hot drive from New Jersey in my non-air conditioned car. He and Evie cooled off and had some belly fun in the pool.
Little baby in a big pool.


A few days later, the Camera visited Evie during bathtime. Though she loves her bath, she starts to get a little antsy about midway through the bath. We discovered that if we flip her over she is distracted enough by the new scenery and bathtime remains happy and fussy-free. We also get a great view of her cute little baby tushy!

Soapy bottom!

"Daddy, I love bathtime!" Bathtime is mostly Daddy and Baby time. Tim gets home from work in time to play with her a little, give her a bath and then put her to bed.


Day 3: The car was fixed on day 2 at our garage. Something about hoses giving out. It wasn't my fault. Evie and I made it to work and back. Only minor honking at me.

Days 5 and 6: Evie and I had to attend meetings outside the city, requiring us to travel on highway systems. No honking, but probably got a few weird looks.

Day 9: Reversed for the first time in the Staples parking lot.

Day 12: Victory is mine!

A Meditation on the Mommy Brain

You know how some days seem to have themes? Well, today was the theme of "the uniqueness of the Mommy Brain".

One example, I was putting Evie in the car because I was about to take some young adults from church to Home Depot so they could pick out paint. I was half-giving instruction on how to collapse the stroller to a 16 year old boy, half-doing it for him, holding the baby on my hip and putting items into my trunk all at the same time. A co-worker who is a single non-mother began to remark about how mothers are able to do fifty things at once. I replied, "You just do it, you don't think about it." Later today, I was dropping a friend off on my way home when a Young Boy (about 10 years old) was dribbling his basketball while he was crossing the street against oncoming traffic (meaning me, my 11th day driving a manual transmission). I was so concerned about what I saw, that I stopped the car in the middle of the street, rolled down my window and began to chide the Young Boy with Basketball. "Son (yes, I said Son), you need to hold the ball when you are crossing the street. That's really dangerous, you could have been hit." The Young Boy responded, "You wouldn't have hit me, you have brakes, don't you?" If it wasn't 2007 and if I did not know what the Department of Human Services can do to someone who publicly grips up a child that does not belong to them, I would have gotten out of the car for some good ole' fashioned rebuking.

My friend in the car starts laughing hysterically after we pull off and asks me how I became this way, because I used to never do anything like this. I replied, "I am a mother now." It's true, I think differently, I react to different things, I have my focus on different things.

After I dropped her off, I reflected more on what my friends-who-are-mothers call the Mommy Brain. I used to be a whirlwind of task accomplishments, a Multitasker Extraordinaire, who could keep up with several different projects at one time. I could plan ahead so I could use my time effectively and efficiently, and remember this entire organized plan a week later. NOW ... I am a mess. I can walk up the steps with the intention of getting something from the bedroom, arrive in the bedroom and be totally bewildered about why I am there, fiddle with something else I need to do, and then wander out of the bedroom and remember what I need when I am downstairs in the middle of another task. I cannot hold lists in my head, I cannot do more than two things at one time, and forget about planning ahead. I have the ability to listen to someone speak, instantly remember what I need to do for the baby and then realize that I just zoned out for 5 minutes and have no idea what this person is talking about. However, I am superb at remembering everything the baby needs. This is Mommy Brain.

So today, I happened on a little tidbit that was reported on a National Public Radio's Health and Science broadcast in January 2007.

"A woman's brain gets 8% smaller during pregnancy and doesn't go back to normal until 6 months post-partum. Researchers assume it is because the mother's brain needs some re-wiring to prepare for taking care of a baby. And once back to normal, the female's brain is considered more advanced because new connections have been generated that don't exist in non-mother brains."

This makes sense. Brain shrinkage. Rewiring. New connections. More advanced. Yes, it explains everything.

Picnic Pics

A few Sundays ago, we grubbed and hung out at the Cookman picnic. The food was plenty, the green space to run free was plenty, and the cute babies were a-plenty as well. Harmony's great-aunt Karen (my pastor's sister, some of you may remember her because she sang at my wedding) is holding Harmony and of course, I am with Evie.
First Harmony touches Evie
... then Evie touches Harmony.
Everyone look this way at the camera.
Then we look down. Notice: Harmony's lower lip is starting to poke out, that can only mean....
... upset face!!! Evie can't understand why Harmony is crying. "She's teething? What are teeth?" Oh boy, our time is coming soon, I'm sure of it.

Fun Day Out

My friends Amy and David have two rambunctious kids, Noel and Jonah. David is a youth pastor, and he left last Friday on a youth group mission trip to New Orleans to do some rebuilding. This left Amy with her two boys for 8 days (yikes!). So my friend Coryn, baby Evie, and I met up with Amy and the boys for some lunch and a little outing to the park.

At the diner, Noel was coloring with some crayons. I told Noel my favorite color is blue. What is your favorite color? "All the colors are my favorite colors!" he exclaimed! Jonah and Noel pose with Noel's favorite colors.

After we ate lunch, Noel and Jonah started burning up some energy by running and up down the diner; time to leave! We went to the park across the street. Noel found a HUGE tree to climb.

There was a small stage in the park; Noel and Jonah performed some songs for us. Notice Noel's cool dance moves.

They took a break from the stage and played in the dirt.

Evie enjoyed the outdoors and loved feeling the grass.

She is also starting to recognize the camera. This is the first time she reached out for it with the intent to grab it.

From left to right: Noel, Amy, Coryn, and Evie (I think Jonah was still in the dirt). A beautiful day in the park! We will do it again soon.

Mobility, when Awake or Asleep

Evie is becoming more and more mobile, which is cause for great celebration and also some fear because we are not ready for it at all (still need to babyproof the house). Regardless of how her parents are feeling, Evie is moving on, literally. She has already been turning circles in bed, but the other day, I walked in after a long night's sleep to find her like this:

She rolled over onto her stomach, turned 45 degrees, and then pushed herself back until her legs were stuck out the rails. Yes, exactly like the time Ella Reese did the same thing in her bed.

Here is a picture to compare. This is from Lillian's blog; Ella Reese did this in January. Do all babies do this?


She also loves sitting up. I took this picture in time to see her start to tumble over. A friend of mine got her that little dress when she was vacationing in Jamaica. Cute little island girl!


She is trying Very Hard to crawl. She gets so frustrated when she is on her belly and can't go where she wants that she will start to scream a little--what a temper! She can belly scoot backwards and "swim" her way forward. Tim and I have also walked in on her in the early morning or late night when she is rocking back and forth on her hands and knees, whining and half asleep. We have never seen her do this when she is awake. I am sure she will be rocking and crawling very soon, during all hours of the day!

July 4th BBQ

We went to a friend's house for a good ole' July 4th BBQ. To celebrate, we dressed Evie in red, white, and blue (someone gave us this outfit and we found it in a pile of clothes just in time). She drew a crowd of admirers and even got a kiss from Noel (6 years old).

A few words about Noel--he is a hyper, creative, and very busy 6 year old. Are all 6 year old boys such a whirlwind? I am a fan of Amy, his mom, because she seems to be able to keep up with him and his younger brother, Jonah (4 years old). Here, Noel is in the hammock practicing his Spider Man skills.

This is Evie's first time meeting a dog. She kept staring and staring -- "How did Smokey the cat get so big and hairy?" By the way, our cat Smokey is now officially scared of the baby ever since he got too close to sniff her and she grabbed a huge piece of fur around his neck and wouldn't let go. He looked at me with eyes that said "What? I am being attacked by this short person! Help!" Ever since then, whenever Evie even looks like she could get near him, he runs away.

Evie hanging out with her daddy and the guys, talking politics (appropriate for July 4th).

Noel and his little brother were playing with a huge Pokemon inflatable toy when it turned into a little fight over the huge Pokemon inflatable toy. You can see Jonah tugging here. He eventually won, with the help of his parents.

Evie's admirers came back for a second session of cooing and googling. She wowed them with her standing up skills. The teenage girls at the party loved passing her around with loud exclamations of "She is SOOOO cute!" They took pictures with her on their camera phones and digital cameras. A few days later, she shows up in pictures of their Facebook. Cuteness brings people together.

We Have Gone Too Far, or Hello Kitty Part 2

I just couldn't resist, I really couldn't. I was cleaning up her room and putting stuffed animals in the moses basket, and then I looked at her, looked at the basket, looked at the stuffed animals, looked at her again... and, well, what can I say. I did it.





Her face was like that the whole time until I took her out. It's a face of "Why are you torturing me? Why are you doing this to me? Are you done yet?" It was hilarious.

Hello Kitty

Many of you know that I, like a good Asian, have a happy affection for Hello Kitty. I can't explain it, I just like her, she's so adorable. I have built up a small Hello Kitty collection over the years and am very happy with it.

So of course I was very pleased when all kinds of Hello Kitty items arrived at my house in preparation for the baby. Hello Kitty books, baby blankets, dolls, spools of ribbon, diaper bag, baby towel set, etc. I was more than happy, I was blisfully contented.

Then, my Joy Was Made Complete when Lillian pointed out that Evie LOOKS like Hello Kitty. Shall we do a visual comparison?



Short of drawing whiskers on the child's face and putting a bow (or strawberrries?) in her hair, she does indeed look like Hello Kitty!

Oh Lord, you are wonderful because you know how to move my heart ....

Evie and Her Little Tree

Grammy found a little dogwood sapling in the backyard. She is going to replant it around the house for Evie.

Evie likes the idea!

Of course, now the tree is smaller than Evie ...

But there will come a day very soon when the tree will be much bigger. Then, she can climb the tree, swing from its branches, and feel the leaves and rough bark in her little hands. As amazing as it is to watch Evie grow into her own person, it is equally amazing to know that the same God who created Evie the way she is also created this little sapling that will one day be a very tall and lovely tree.

God's creation is perfect and miraculous because of the possibilities he enlists to keep us in suspense. What a wonderful mystery!

Kung Ladies Galore!

My cousin Andrea flew in to Knoxville to see what all the Tennessee hubbub is about. Here are some pictures of us in Lillian's front yard. Ella Reese is not in these pictures because she was taking a long and well-deserved nap.

"I love you Aunty Lillian" says Evie. Gee, we never get to see enough of her, do we?

I am so amazed at Evie's hair loss, I can't help but take pictures of it.

Lillian and Ryan are so happy because they have a happy secret. I don't know if I can tell you yet ...

Lillian, Ryan and Ella Reese are getting ready to go on vacation for a week so we say "au revoir" to them. Have fun!

Tennessee Baseball

One of our more memorable family outings while we were in TN was to a Tennessee Smokies baseball game. The TN Smokies is a minor league team, one of many that farm out their best players to the Chicago Cubs. After having been to a few major league baseball games (Phillies, Reds, Browns), I can understand why minor league games are usually not broadcasted on TV. It's amazing how many mistakes are made. But then, everyone has to start from somewhere, right? Okay, enough commentary from the baseball neophyte, time for more cute pictures of our baby.

Grandpa got a "My First Cubs T-shirt" shirt for Evie, which she proudly wore for her first baseball game. She shares her first pre-game jitters with a very adoring Uncle Chad.


Evie poses as a Tennessee Smokie baseball player. You can see Tim behind the board as he holds her up. These pictures crack me up.



The game that night was rained out, so we decided to while away some hours at the Bass Pro Shop, and gawk at spectacle consumerism at its best. You can buy all things hunting at the Bass Pro Shop, and stare at big game fish, fake moose heads, stuffed bears and deer, and even buy a luxary hunting yacht. Evie, wisely, hated the Bass Pro Shop and cried her eyes out after the first 15 minutes. We left in a hurry to put our little one to bed.

We did end up going to the game the following afternoon. So Evie finally got to see some "hot" baseball action at her second first baseball game ever! And the Smokies won--yeah!