The Family O' Blevins

Moon, Eyes, Pizza Pie... That's Amore!

2011-11-09T07:18:00.000-08:00

I've put it off long enough... August was an amazing month and I haven't yet said anything about it!The last time you found us, we were in Geneva, Switzerland, enjoying some weekend expeditions and calm, methodical week days. At the end of July, we were closing in on the end of the term for Ethan, which also meant the end of our European experience. For now. But to give ourselves one final hurrah, we planned a trip to Italy.

So, after Ethan's last final, we boarded a south-bound train and traveled beyond the rolling vistas blanketed in sunflowers, vineyards, green crop fields and the quaint country homes of Switzerland, to the sunny state of Italy. We arrived in Rome a little late and a lot exhausted, but were thrilled by our adventure.

Our first day was spent in Rome, wandering a street market peppered with local artists and drowning in tourists, so we felt right at home. We saw the stunning Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps, and drank in the general Roman ambiance. What a day!

The Trevi Fountain was an impressive piece of art, to say the least. Learning a little about it's history helped us better appreciate what we were seeing.

Trevi Fountain

Trevi Fountain and the Blevins Family

The Spanish Steps

Day number two was spent at the Vatican Museum. The amount of art in that massive museum was overwhelming, but we were able to spend a few good hours gazing in wonder at man's inspired genius, not only in the frames and on the pedestals, the the building itself was impressed with an artistic hand.

I wish I could remember what this is....

Maybe it's a little weird that I took pictures of this, but there was an entire section of Rafael paintings. This is The School of Athens, a huge mural on one of the Vatican walls which depicts quite a few Greek philosophers. Because the room just wasn't big enough for me to capture the entire painting with my beginner photography skills, here are the front-center features, Plato and Aristotle.

Ethan with his good buddy Anubis in the Ancient Egypt wing of the Vatican.

After the grand finale of the Sistine Chapel (where we weren't allowed to photograph) we sought out the sunny day on a patio where we ran in to a couple of Ethan's classmates from Geneva! They were kind enough to take this.

That evening we went to eat at Osteria Romana, a restaurant off of the Palazzo Di St. Calisto. Tasty!

Ethan ordered lasagna at every restaurant, just to compare. This is him with his favorite version at Osteria Romana.

Day three in Italy we trained an hour north to spend a day in Firenze (Florence).

We were given some great advice and purchased our museum tickets early and blessedly surpassed the snaking lines. Our first museum was The Accademia, which turned out to be our favorite. Maybe part of it's appeal was the absolutely incredible sculptures. Or the comparatively small size so we could better appreciate the art. But I'm convinced part of our devotion has something to do with the 20 foot naked Biblical figure featured there.

Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures of Michelangelo's David, but it was one of the major highlights of our European jaunt. I wish I could provide words, but there are none. Suffice it to say, he was magnificent.

In the hall with the David were also a series of unfinished statues unofficially called Michelangelo's Prisoners or Slaves. These were surprisingly powerful and worth going to the Accademia for, even if the David weren't there. My pictures didn't turn out well of these, mostly because I stopped photographing... I wasn't sure if we were allowed to or not. But here's a good link of some photos I found online.

The Rape of the Sabine Women by Giambologna was one of my favorite pieces. Not in a morbid way, but emotionally, it had a way of pulling you in and demanding undivided attention. The Accademia features a replica of true likeness, but the original is in the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence.

The original Rape of the Sabine Women

Henry in front of the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore

After the Accademia and a quick walk-by of the Duomo, we stopped for some lunch at a little restaurant down one of the hundreds of Florence side-streets. Of course Ethan had lasagna, his staple in Italy... and it never disappointed.

Once satiated, we set out for the Uffizi, an imposing museum adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria. But I am embarrassed. I took so much time to write this post that I've effectively forgotten most of the Uffizi Museum, and, as pictures were forbidden, I have no visual guide to remind me. But I do remember being wowed. (Shameful, I know).

I also remember after the Uffizi making sure Ethan got himself a chocolate gelato cone.

After our museum expeditions, we spent some time walking around Florence before we boarded our train back to Rome.

Our last day in Italy was a Saturday. We let Henry enjoy a morning nap on his make-shift bed.

Then we got him dressed for our last outing in Roma.

We deliberately planned less in to our schedule while in Italy so that Henry wouldn't hate us for lack of sleep. And we didn't want to put ourselves through the torture of a screaming baby again. No fun. So our only agenda item for the day was the Colosseum, a 2000 year old, truly colossal, amphitheater that was originally used for gladiatorial events. In it's completed state it could seat around 50,000 people, along with under chambers for prisoners, animals, etc. Although earthquakes, time, and men have taken their toll on the structure, we were still in awe. Very impressive, ancient Romans!

At least Ethan and I were impressed. Henry looks unaffected.

After the colosseum, we browsed around Rome a little more and saw the Trevi Fountain again at night. It had a romantic charm, although it was just as crowded at night as it was during the day. After our last Italian supper, Italian style, we bused back to our hotel and got a little shut eye before our train ride "home" to Geneva.

Arriverderci, Roma!

Our Foreign Home: Deutschland!

2011-07-30T12:32:00.000-07:00

Where to begin?!

It's been almost a month since our German weekend! Where has the time gone?

So, to recall our hop up to our homeland of Deutschland, I will have to part the sea of recent memories and extract that weekend of fun.... ok, here it is.

Based on an experienced recommendation, Ethan and I decided Germany was a must on our Tour de Europe. Not only is Germany The Swiss' northern neighbor, but it's also Ethan's and my ancestral home (among many others). So we boarded our Friday afternoon train and 7 hours later found ourselves in the nicest "Pricelined" hotel in Koln, Germany. On Saturday morning we secured ourselves a little european rental car for the day then began our exploration of Downtown Koln.

Henry and I at Gaffel-Haus, our first plunge into local eats. German fare, you ask? Amazing!!

We had planned to take a boat trip along the Rhine, but it was a soggy day and we felt like it might be too much for our little man. But it wasn't too difficult to be sucked in to the beauty of the Koln Cathedral, which was dripping with gothic style.

We had booked a hotel in Frankfurt that night and were hoping to make it there for a tasty plateful of wiener schnitzel, but it took over an hour to shake ourselves from the labyrinth of one-way streets, people, and construction detours of downtown Koln, and until almost 11 pm to actually walk in to our Frankfurt hotel.

On Sunday our original plan was a leisurely drive south a few towns, but after church we resolved to content ourselves with Frankfurt to ensure we caught our train back to Geneva. So we chose a very traditionally German location close to the river to explore but were surprised by the major detours and the crowded streets between us and our destination. I guess we should have done a little more research on Frankfurt's calendar of events before making plans. But even though it wasn't the Germany we were planning to find and we missed our train because of it, it was still an exciting thing to accidentally spectate!

Adorable Ethan!

Our short weekend in Germany gave us just enough culture, landscape, and cuisine to make us hungry for more! It felt like home to both of us- a home where we didn't speak the language. Lucky for us almost everyone there spoke our mother-tongue. We hope that someday Germany will be on our itinerary again. Thank you, Deutschland!

Ha Ha, Henry!

2011-07-30T11:11:00.000-07:00

I love this kid! We had a fun time watching him watch the light. By the way, excuse the messy background- we're in the middle of packing. Enjoy!

Lyon, France

2011-07-25T23:21:00.000-07:00

I'm a little behind on my blog posts... I felt like I should catch up before it became impossible.

The day after the tomato festival, we decided to head to Lyon, France. We caught a 9ish train and after a short two hours, arrived in the beautiful city of Lyon. Instead of making this post word-heavy, I think I'll let the pictures tell the bulk of the story.

Ethan and Henry on the train ride to Lyon.

After finding an ATM, food was our first order of business in Lyon. We found a little cafe that served up some mean crepes- ham, sun-dried tomato and cheese. My mouth waters whenever I think about them. Oooo, good.

After lunch, we caught a bus to St. John the Baptist Cathedral (large building in the foreground), which was undergoing some renovations, so we headed up to the Basilica (on the hilltop).

A few pictures of the Basilica of Notre Dame de Fourviere, built in the late 1800's.

Built on a hilltop, the view from the Basilica alone was worth the effort.

A few minutes walk from the Basilica are the ruins of two Roman amphitheaters, first constructed about 15 BC. If you look closely, you'll see a little Henry sunhat peeping over one of the walls.

We were impressed with the imprints of generations in this spot; The Basilica towering in the background, the ancient ruins of the amphitheater around us, and a modern stage with the lighting, sound boards, and speakers rising up in front of the sweeping view of Lyon.

Henry and I found a little cave on our way down from the amphitheaters.

At the base of the hill we found ourselves in the middle of Old Town, Lyon. Offering cobblestone streets, crowded buildings, and outdoor eateries, it was quintessential France. I felt pretty successful getting this shot. An old town in a French city in the middle of tourist season on a Saturday afternoon... a picture with little or no people is priceless.

After Old Lyon, we caught a bus to Tete D'Or, the most amazing park I have ever had the pleasure to enter. We initially went for Henry's sake and we were rewarded with ample coos and smiles.

This park was huge, boasting a little lake, multiple fields for games, play grounds, a carousel, giraffes, long horn cattle, a variety of interesting birds, an amazing rose garden, and a running path surrounding this family paradise. This was by far my favorite part of Lyon.

Ethan had done some initial research, and we had a pretty impressive dinner, if food was the only consideration. By this point, Henry was finished with Lyon, traveling, smiling, and even his pacifier. Our waiter wasn't sugared up by Henry's cuteness and gave us the cold shoulder during our visit to his table. And to top it all off, we were eating al fresco under an umbrella and it began to rain. So Ethan and I took turns eating while the other one walked the screaming Henry around the narrow passageways. It was still a delicious meal, but by the time the check came, all parties were ready for us to move on. (Note to self: don't expect miracle behavior out of a sleep-deprived 4 month old.)

Our train ride home was, let me be completely candid, a continuation of dinner, except no food was involved. Poor Henry! But all things considered, we loved our trip to Lyon and look forward to someday making our way back to that beautiful city!

A Fruitless Tomato Festival

2011-07-17T02:36:00.000-07:00

After poking around online, I found something I was really excited to experience in Geneva. Every July they hold a Tomato festival, with dozens of growers and a wide variety of tomatoes for the tasting. We had already planned our Saturday excursion, but the internet confirmed that the festival was Friday evening and Saturday. So we set off on Friday evening for a tomato extravaganza and after a round-about bus route and half an hour of wandering through "the ugly side", we arrived at a miniature fair ground proclaiming itself to be the Tomato Festival.

Henry and The Tomato

I was expecting a farmer's market feel, but instead it was a bona fide festival on the relatively small plot of ground allotted to them. There was a churro stand (gotta have fried food at a fair), a carousel, one midway game, a couple food booths, and a live Swiss band playing American country, and singing in French. Yee-haw!

But I was undeterred. The familiar smells in the foreign land could not depart me from my mission- to taste some really amazing tomatoes. After searching, Ethan spotted a few tomato plants weaving up lattice work under a huge tent in the rear of this toe-tappin' party, so we wove our way through the crowd to find...

nothing.

What the internet failed to tell us was that although the fair was Friday and Saturday, the tomatoes were purely a Saturday affair. We bought some peanuts from the only vendor in the tomato tent, then we drowned my disappointment in bbq and churros. It was hard to stay too despondent, watching the growing crowd enjoying the music, food, and other fun. And of course, before we left, Ethan got to play his midway game... and won Henry a little star.

All in all, a pretty successful night!

Enjoying the Swiss-ness of it all!

2011-07-11T22:48:00.000-07:00

This last Saturday marked our first out-of-Geneva experience since our arrival almost two weeks ago. The interns at the University of Geneva planned an outing for the Duke Students (plus tag-alongs like me and Henry). We traveled to Montreux, then took a train specifically used for mountain climbing, and climbed the Swiss Alps from the comfort of our train seats. The scenery was stunning, with Lake Geneva below and mountains all around. We spent a few good hours on the top of one mount, and ate our lunch with jutting peaks, sloping fields of wildflowers and two mountain cottages as our view. Our mood music was clanking cow bells from a small herd of cattle. Needless to say, our "daily bread" was not the breathtaking part of our meal.

After our mountainous adventure, we chugged back down to Montreux where we visited our first European castle, the famous Chateau de Chillon. By this time Henry was beyond exhausted, hot, and poopy, so our visit may have been a little distracted. But even with a squirmy boy I felt like we could appreciate our visit. This chateau was built on a little island of rock just beyond the natural beach line, with an idyllic mote surrounding it's thick stone walls. Our guided tour took us through the gallows, storage areas, bedrooms, great halls, and even a two-seater toilet where many a medieval hiney addressed it's needs while its owner chatted with their potty mate. Built over 1000 years ago, I believe it's the oldest structure I've ever entered.

Saturday was not our day for picture taking. We took heaps of pictures on the Alps, but the camera only remembers us taking about 8. And after a 1/2 hour video of Ethan's pocket, our battery had had enough. We've been promised some pictures from friends, but until then, here is a pic of the Chateau from the internet!

http://193.105.21.101/image?id=6985&hsearch=chateau

Geneva 1

2011-07-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

6 days ago we arrived in Geneva. Henry was a trooper on our flight from Seattle to Paris. But once we landed, he could contain himself no longer. Flying with an infant doesn't really have any perks compared to, say, flying first class by yourself. Or better yet, with a masseuse to keep your feet company... and a large bag of food lovingly prepared by a master chef. But I digress. Pre-boarding and bulkhead seating are my touting point with infant flying. Often when you carry a baby on board, there's a chorus of mutters and groans, and when you're reminded how fun-sized the seats are, you join in. But compared with toddler flying, babies are a breeze.

Henry in his new sunhat a la nana

Including our airport waiting, Seattle/Paris/Geneva flights lasted about 19 hours... not bad for a romp 1/2 way around the world. Yet when we arrived, I still felt like a stray dog. We were tired, smelly and starving. After a long shower and a heaping plate of Bolognese, I felt comfortable again.

Since our Swiss arrival, we've moved in to our temporary home, a nice hotel just a few blocks away from the UN. Henry and I spend our days on wandering walks and in the hotel room while he naps.

Ethan's hard at work in his classes and is really enjoying the change in scenery, although the pace is on par with other semesters.

Last night we were all invited to attend the reception dinner and I was able to meet a lot of Ethan's classmates, who ogled over Henry. He made fast friends. We got home late and after a bath, Hank was asleep by 11:30. He had such a good time, when he got home he was acting like a total goof.

But today he's been a big crab- this is about as close as anyone would want to get to him.

Thinking about my little girl

2011-07-03T14:53:00.000-07:00

Sleep hasn't been easy to come by since we arrived in Geneva 4 days ago. The first night I can rightly blame on cute little Henry who is quite dedicated to his schedule. Jumping forward 9 hours was rough. But exhaustion soon overcame him and he's completely adjusted to Swiss time. I move a little slower.

As my boys sleep away, my thoughts settle on our little girl. Tonight I look around our dark hotel room and wonder where she would have slept and whether she would be walking and what she would be saying. I wonder if she would still be bobbing her head around when she listens to music or wrapping her arms around her stuffed kitty as she drifted off to sleep. I can tell you she would still be smiling; A truly beautiful little girl. I miss her every day and tonight, with Henry's little rustles as my background noise (and an occasional snore from Ethan) I can take some time to think about and miss my little Chloe.

Something's funny...

2011-06-09T14:34:00.000-07:00

We are finally relating to the much-frequented statement, "kids grow up so fast!" This concept was completely lost on us with Chloe, who barely eked on to the single digit percentiles of the pediatric growth charts, and although her slight physique was a major stress, her littleness was part of her, a charm all her own. Now Henry is by no means a chunk, although the sight of his pudgy little legs makes me happy. His body seems to be getting bigger every day. Buttoning the cuffs of his shirt that fit last week is now impossible around his chubby forearms, his ankles are now an inch below his pant-ends, and attempting to button some of his onesies stretches the collar down his chest like a low-cut shirt. Who is this kid?!

With number two, we have the background to identify milestones and beam with parental pride as he brings his hands together, crosses center, babbles with impressive variety, and tracks like a champ, among other things. Last night we were able to catch on camera a prolonged series of laughs, which warms my mother heart. I thought I'd share, but want to apologize for the crazy camera work. But it's still so cute!!

Henry's Shoot

2011-04-30T07:47:00.000-07:00

I've always regretted forgoing a photo shoot with Chloe as a newborn. We have thousands of pictures of her, but wished we had some professional shots when she was brand new. When Henry was born, we knew we wanted to capture this time before it passed us by, but in the pending move for the summer, I was worried it wouldn't get scheduled.

But our wonderful friend, Kate, said she would take some for us. On top of being a great friend, Kate is a phenomenal photographer and artist. She photographs weddings, but she could easily include child photography in the mix. She was great with Henry! So, here's a select few of the photos she took for us. Thank you, Kate!!

Meet Henry

2011-03-31T12:52:00.001-07:00

"The Family O'Blevins" would like to welcome little Henry Gordon Blevins into our family! Although it took him a little longer than expected, Henry is well worth the wait.

The Birth: I wish I could tout tales of water breaking, counting contractions, or even a thrilling saga of labor in stop-and-go traffic. But such was not Henry's case. It actually began 2 1/2 years ago with his big sister Chloe's birth. You see, Chloe's pregnancy was a little more stressful than Henry's, and it all came to a head with major gushes of blood and an emergency c-section. In a subsequent pregnancy with a uterine scar, I had two options for delivery: spontaneous labor with a hope for a VBAC (vaginal birth after c-section) or a repeat c-section.

(Enter my ninth month of pregnancy...) I had high hopes of going into labor spontaneously. Ethan and I had dutifully attended all of our Prepared Childbirth classes. We'd even missed the Broadway production of The Lion King to learn about coping with labor pains. At week 39, my wonderful sister Andra flew in for Henry's vaginal arrival. We began working pressure points, and I was diligent about bouncing on my labor ball. We prayed.

My mother flew in on my due date, March 5th, and still no baby. I continued bouncing and pressure-pointing. We prayed harder. I tried almost everything that had ever been rumored to kick things into gear. We feasted on Eggplant Parmigiana. I walked vigorously. I squatted. And at the recommendation of the fabric cutters at JoAnn's, I ate KFC. Besides stomach cramps and some nausea, even KFC failed me.

March 8th was my scheduled c-section, but my wonderful doc said I could give it another week. So we all redoubled our efforts, pressure-pointing, eating, walking, bouncing, stretching, etc. On March 12th, my sister left. No labor, no baby, nutt'n. But later that night Ethan's mother, Martha, flew in. We were hoping this baby might just be waiting for his grandma before he made his debut.

March 15th was the re-scheduled scheduled c-section. And again my doc said I could wait. I admit, by this point I was discouraged. It seemed like Henry had set up camp and planned on making my body a permanent residence. But I decided I would be okay with whatever happened.

March 18th: Sweet, supportive Martha was dropped off at the airport at 5:30am for her 7:00 flight and Ethan, my mother, and I drove to the hospital for my scheduled c-section. I still clung to the idea of maybe being dilated enough to strip my membranes, but no such luck. We had resolved, though, that we would give my body every chance to do a VBAC and if it didn't happen, Heavenly Father must have had a different plan, and we would trust that.

So at 42 weeks, Henry was delivered at 8:40 am on March 18th via c section. He was 19 1/2 inches long and 8 pounds 1 oz, measuring the same length as his big sis (but almost 3 pounds heavier).

The Name: Henry Gordon Blevins. Henry was one of about 10 names we had on our list, but when we saw him we knew that no other name would do. Gordon, a family name on my side, was cut from the list as soon as I had first suggested it by Ethan's veto power. But when we put the names together after he was born... voila! It might sound a little old man-ish, but he's a very mature 17 day old.

The Boy: Henry loves long floats in amniotic fluid, drinking warm milk, taking milk-induced naps, snuggling with his mamma, peeing on his dad, and being a generally cute little fella. He has made it clear that he does NOT like baths, diaper changes, and hunger. His favorite facial expression is a serious furrowed brow with intermixed fleeting smiles. But his bewildered face always makes me smile.

We're so so grateful to have him here and home with us! Thank you to all for your support, prayers, and service! Henry is the perfect addition to our growing family and we feel honored to be his parents. He's looking forward to meeting all of you!

A Thankful Thanksgiving

2010-11-26T07:57:00.000-08:00

Happy Day-after Thanksgiving! I was going to post on the day, but somehow time got away from me. But what a wonderful day! I am so glad for this time of year, that puts life into perspective and helps me see my blessings through my trials. Yesterday Ethan and I discussed the things we are especially grateful for this year and found that we had almost an identical list.

A supportive and loving family
Fantastic friends
A comfortable home with food, heat, electricity
Our beautiful daughter Chloe and those 15 months we had with her
Our little boy on the way (yet to be named)
The restored gospel of Jesus Christ
Opportunities for education
The safety and freedoms this country provides

Also, while I was cleaning up from our Thanksgiving Feast, I was reminded how grateful I am for a dishwasher. Really, I could go on and on with my feelings of gratitude, but my blog isn't where I should be expressing that gratitude the most. It should be to my friends, family, and Father in Heaven.

I don't feel like it's coincidental that Thanksgiving falls just one month before our Christmas celebrations. For me, Thanksgiving redirects my thoughts and priorities from what matters little to what matters most. Instead of obsessing over irritations for some minor offence or inconvenience, this season of thanks helps me focus on what I have been blessed with and the loved ones in my life who love me back. What a gift to ourselves and those we love, to let our frustrations fall by the wayside, making room in our hearts for joy, peace, and gratitude to reside.

Thanksgiving, to me, is the best preparation to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Thanks to Him, I am able to fully enjoy faith, hope, peace.

So Happy Thanksgiving Season to all! I hope it was a wonderful day for all of you, as it was for us.

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!

2010-11-03T13:57:00.001-07:00

Two years ago today Chloe Hazel Blevins was introduced to us as our daughter. Although she died almost 9 months ago, we still commemorate this happy day when we saw and held for the first time our precious little girl. I was anticipating a lot more tears today, but I've felt so blessed to feel peace in my heart. I know she lives on in spirit and someday will be resurrected, body and spirit united eternally. I also find comfort today knowing that Ethan and I have been married for time and all eternity, he as my husband, and our children as our children, forever. I know this through the Holy Spirit, from whom I find this comfort and peace.

Although I would have loved to throw her a birthday bash bathed in pink, have her sweet smiles and babbles wash over me, and feel her little arms around my neck, I find joy today in reflecting on the tender time we had together, the blessings of family and friends, and eagerly anticipate the time when I will be with her again.

Some of our favorites from our digital Museum of Chloe.

Just a few hours old

Our first family picture

Christmas, 2008

Chloe's Blessing Day, December, 2008

China, January-April 2009

Our all-time favorite video of her loving her favorite toy. We had this little doll buried with her.

Who can argue with that?!

Look at how proud she is!

One of her "hanging out" positions in a favorite sleeper. (Yes, she would often sleep like this.)

Posing on a tree for Uncle Bryce

She loved to babble at anything her size, even herself in the mirror!

A common expression!

Exactly one year ago

Clapping, a favorite pass-time. She never got bored of it and we never got bored of watching her!

Such a perfect toy!

Christmas, 2009

The Christmas tree had just been packed up and Chloe's enjoying the extra space.

Our last living picture of Chloe at 15 months, the night before she passed away. We were waiting for Ethan to come home from a church meeting in Seattle. Just me and Chloe that night.

Isn't she beautiful?!

Major Purchase

2010-09-18T06:46:00.000-07:00

Can a purchase be both well thought-out and spontaneous? If so, I think we just had one of those yesterday.

I was having a craving for nachos. It wasn't just a basic, run-of-the-mill craving, that passes once you've eaten. It was before every meal, during, and sometimes even after meals. It wasn't one of those cravings that could be satisfied at home with some chips and grated cheese in the broiler. I needed Mexican restaurant nachos, with jalapeños, guacamole, and beans, those messes you can only get at your local Mexican restaurant. Finally Ethan acquiesced, and I hustled my hind end down to El Ranchero. I ordered a couple piles of chip-y, cheesy goodness to go, and wandered outside, wondering what I could do for 10 minutes without looking like I was a desperate woman waiting for her to-go order.

Hidden behind the restaurant was an Ashley's Furniture store, the glass doors completely painted with the familiar words, "Closeout Sale" "Everything Must Go". Ah, my salvation from a 10 minute wait! We didn't need any more furniture in our oddly shaped and full apartment, but I love looking at furniture because it's safe "browse only" items. Even closeout stuff is too expensive. There were rows of recliners, and crowded couch displays. Then what to my wondering eyes should appear?! Large white rectangles of blissful, sleepy comfort! Mattresses.

Ethan and I have been wanting a new mattress for the past 3 years. Let me be blunt: he twitches and I want more space. There have been many nights where he or I (usually he, good man) ended up on the couch. But my heart fell as I saw the bloated prices. Not a chance I'm spending Four GRAND on a mattress! But from personal experience we knew a cheap mattress was a waste of money, too. About then my nacho sense kicked in and I headed for the door when I was verbally side-swiped by a salesman.

"We didn't have anything you wanted?!" He desperately yelled as he jogged up to me from the back desk.

"The only thing I'm interested in is a mattress, and we can't afford yours." I responded, now waiting impatiently for polite refusal to make it's final show.

He poked a mattress next to us and offered "this one" as a good option, but I dismissed his attempts with a passive, "we want a king." But as many know, salesmen always have a perky resolution to your pessimistic and "poo-pooing" attempts.

"Well, did you see the Beauty Rests in the back? How much are you willing to spend? I can talk with the manager and see what I can work out. All he wants to do today is sell!" I got a quote on the mattress and justified my inability to commit because my other half was not on hand, but made a vague promise to return that night.

After talking with Ethan, we realized what a good opportunity this could be if we decided to take it. He promised to think about it while he studied, which was something I hadn't seen him capable of to this point and was skeptical of him achieving.

On our way home from the church barbecue last night we decided to just stop in and look, but by the time we reached the parking lot, we had a price in mind and were ready to negotiate. But when we laid our tired heads on that amazing mattress, we were completely convinced. Half an hour later, we walked out with a King size mattress pad in hand and a red "Sold" tag on our new mattress. Yay!!! (Now we're hoping some kind friends in the Elder's Quorum have a big truck and the time to help us get it to the 3rd floor.)

The only disappointment of the day was the nachos, totally void of the spicy, salty satisfaction I so desired. A lack-luster pile of flavorless calories, and so the craving continues. A new mattress has been secured, and now... where to find those nachos....

Another Favorite

2010-08-16T22:26:00.000-07:00

Chloe was always a little suspicious of the camera, which the video below captures well, but as she grew, she learned that the flash meant she should smile, and she would give these great cheesy grins. This one is one of my favorites because she has the whole head tilt, big smile, etc down. She looks like she's posing. Adorable.

My favorite of Chloe's camera smiles

Despite what past pictures and this video might portray, Chloe never slept in bed with us. Aside from my fear of rolling on top of her, we thought it was important for her to sleep on her own, and for us to have our space too. But I'd love to bring her in with us the mornings she woke us up. It wasn't her favorite thing, probably because she was hungry and done laying down, but I was excited for the day she would be old enough to come in on her own and crawl into bed with us in the mornings.

This video was probably taken on a Saturday morning, when my mom was home from work, and Ethan was volunteering in Seattle. Judging by the fabric box on the bed, we'd probably been up awhile, and Chloe had been fed. I hope my mom forgives me, because she's still in her bathrobe, but the video is too sweet not to post.

There's a point when she thinks she's being very sneaky, not looking over at me. If you watch her face, it is hilarious.

2010-07-31T20:45:00.001-07:00

Family Reunion, 2010

2010-07-29T07:50:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago I stocked Ethan with a plethora a Trader Joe's frozen dinners, veggies, fruits, and other easy foods, and abandoned him for 10 days, escaping to Seattle/Vashon Island/Tacoma for our annual family reunion. It was our longest separation since marriage (over our anniversary, no less), but we both handled it fairly well, although my lot was, admittedly, much easier. Besides heading up the food for this year's reunion, my purpose was to soak up some Seattle rays (if any) and hang out with my great family. I left him here to go to class and prepare for finals. Yay for him. (Poor fella.)

My first weekend in the incomparably beautiful Pacific Northwest, we had a sister's weekend on the Olympic Penninsula. Our time was full of laughter, pedicures, laughter, great conversations, laughter, hot tubbing, and some more laughter. It was the best to have everyone there this year, too. Wonderful!

The venue for this year's reunion was my brother's home on American Lake. The first day was a balmy 55 degrees (completely cloudy and a steady breeze). Most of the adults sat it beach chairs with sweatshirts on and towels over their bodies trying to keep warm. The kids were plunging in to the water, gung-ho for a day of beach fun. Emerging later with shivering bodies and purple lips, they would find the nearest adult with a dry towel to warm them up before throwing themselves back in. I confess that I wasn't interested at all in swimming the first day. I've become a bit of a chicken in my old age.

Thankfully it warmed up the last two days and everyone was able to enjoy some solar heat and appreciate the cool water. Every day was spent on the beach, enjoying ski runs and tubing, boat rides, swims, canoeing, kayaking, and general togetherness. The newest addition to our family reunion, the raft, served as the boat's home base, a sanctuary from the water, and the location for a couple intense games of King of the Raft.

I spent a good portion of time playing around with, and being intimidated by, my new camera. So the pictures I've posted are a little random and don't fully capture the description I've attempted to paint, but hopefully give some idea of the fun we've had. (Hopefully by my next post of pictures I will have a better idea what I'm doing.)

In conclusion, the family reunion was a smashing success and next year I hope Ethan and I will both be there. Good times with some of the best people. Thanks for a great time everyone! I miss you already!

Oh, whatever!

2010-07-02T05:29:00.001-07:00

I woke up missing Chloe, thinking about some of the wonderful memories I have with her and wondering if there are any I've forgotten yet. I know that some memories will slowly fade or disappear completely, and that's scary to me. Whoever created pictures and videos though, we are so grateful to you! I've been organizing our home videos, creating a new folder just for videos with Chloe. When I feel especially sad, I'll spend some time in her scrapbooks or watching videos, and it helps me remember all those happy memories with our beautiful baby. They remind me that she's just away for awhile and I'll see her again someday.

(Chloe snuggled up with mom and her pink baby doll, February 17, 2010)

Looking at those little snippets of her life reminded me to post the next installment of my dad and Chloe, the last clips we have of her. This series is called Oh, whatever! because of this clip. She loved shaking her head, and watch her face, she gives my dad the cutest squinty grin. What a precious baby.

New Glasses

2010-06-25T12:12:00.000-07:00

In February I went in for my yearly eye exam. I dread these almost as much as I do the dentist, but I try to be vigilant, lest my health suffer (and my driver's license be revoked because of poor vision). Thanks to my extraordinary genetics, my vision is worse than most 80 year olds. I have thus far blessedly been spared the pain of cataracts, macular degeneration, and the warrior that took my dad's right eye at 25, glaucoma. No, my plight with vision, at least at my tender age, is just horribly horrible vision. My prescription has fallen into the negative double digits for the past 7 or so years. Although I don't fully understand the scribbles on these doctor-signed papers, I see numbers like -22.75, -13, +500, and know it just means my eyesight has indeed wormed it's way to worse, reminding me that not everyone's sight levels when they mature. (Maybe that's saying something about my personality and not my eyes.) I don't mind breaking molds, but this isn't what I had in mind. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to complain; my eyes CAN be corrected, and there's materials to correct them. Thank goodness!

We waited until we got to Durham to fill the glasses prescription because it would take awhile for the lenses to be made, cut, and shipped back. So a couple weeks ago I went to our local optical joint down the road and talked with a very sweet southern lady. When I handed her the prescription, I shifted anxiously, hoping she wouldn't turn me away declaring the prescription impossible for them (like the last place). To my dismay, she said, "Well darling, I don't know if we can fill this." After making some calls, to my relief, she said they found someone to take care of it. Woohoo!

Whenever I pick out frames, my mind tends to wander from the gargantuan prescription and I pick something I think will look really classy, and I'll spend a lot of time looking through the cheap plastic lenses of the display frames and see how they look on my face, with my hair and skin tone, and how it frames my eyes. (I bet a lot of you didn't even realize I paid any attention to those kinds of things!) And so I did with these frames, looking for my southern friend's advice and approval on just the right ones.

I went to pick up my glasses today, and I had dreams of my cute frames, wearing them sometimes when I didn't want to wrestle with my contacts, or when I just thought they would be cute. Then reality reigned me in when they were brought out in their little beige plastic tray and I had to smile at myself. I did feel bad for the poor adorable frames,reduced to pure practicality by the distorted shapes they helped reflect and humiliated by the opaque edges yawning half an inch beyond the delicate black arches that joined it's slender arms to the frame.

For what it's worth, frames, thank you for housing my ice-cube-thick lenses! I know you had better hopes and dreams for yourself, but I anticipate that you will be loved with me as you would have with any mildly near-sided girl. I hope, dear frames, that you will find consolation in the fact that you hold some incredibly expensive lenses. But vision, my new companion, truly is priceless!

Do you think the frames mind too much?

Yes, the fuzzy grey you see through the left lens (on the right side) is, in fact, how thick it is.

I hope our kids have Ethan's vision, but either way, I'm convinced they'll look great in whatever they end up in!

Letting Sand Settle in Durham

2010-06-20T18:03:00.000-07:00

There is a lot to be said for numbers.

37 days ago Ethan and I drove in to Durham, North Carolina for the first time, a place we've committed to live in for the next three years. Thank goodness we love it here! We've met wonderful families and made fast friends. Our apartment is finally (almost) unpacked. It's feeling like our home, at least for three years.

111 is what the thermostat in the car read yesterday at 5:30pm, and it was surprisingly tolerable. What does this mean, you wonder? It means that when August and September roll around, one might find Katrina hiding in her air conditioned apartment. The humidity, much to the shock of many, is a pleasant addition to the heat. Ethan and I love the weather (at least the weather in May and June).

3 full weeks of law school have brought Ethan to further legal enlightenment, and me to the fast realization that whether or not I listen, he is going to explain his latest case. I can sing a song, brush my teeth, go to the bathroom, or write an email, and he never gets irritated that I'm obviously not listening. Is this a healthy habit for either of us to foster? Hmmm....

4 months and a day(122 days) since Chloe died. Days like Father's Day are especially hard. We both miss her so much and see children in church and around our complex that she would have loved to be friends with, and it's hard. We miss her big and little sounds, her dancing, grins, giggles, clapping, hugging and kissing, rolling, and even her crying. Our hearts are still broken, but there is

1 Savior who makes it possible for us to know where she is and that we can have her sweet little self with us again. One Savior who gave the ultimate gift and loved perfectly and completely.

7 tomato plants are holding on for their dear lives on our poorly sunned deck. Shocking, I know, that I could come from a mother who sticks a dry twig in the ground and out pops the green leaves, but there you have it. We (I) are (am) determined, though, to grow plants. I will learn!

2 completed paintings have made their way to the paper. I have a whole bunch more I'm excited to start. I've noticed I spend a lot more time looking at colors, shapes, how contour is captured, shade, distance, etc. I don't really know what I'm talking about, except that I sure like painting a whole lot and I fully intend to do a lot more of it!

I could talk about our 6 dining room chairs (one of which has been torn to shreds by your truly) that are waiting on the perfect fabric to be recovered, or the 1 cord we need to hook up our tv and dvd player so we can actually watch movies. I could even touch on our 3 bookshelves that are so packed that books are shoved haphazardly into the nooks and crannies. But I think I better stop. For now.

And a Happy Father's Day!!

To all of the wonderful fathers out there, especially the amazing man I'm married to, and the lucky (and ever so patient:)) guy who got to be my dad, I truly wish you the best. Thank you, dad, for being such a wonderful example to me. You're always so cheerful, encouraging, and good-natured. I respect so much your amazing work ethic and fun ethic. You know how to do both really well (although I always remember wishing you had more "fun ethic" growing up, and a little less drive to instill that work ethic). I'm so grateful for the lessons you taught me, some in word, but mostly through example and love. Thank you, and I love you so much, Pops!

Ethan, to steal a much-loved phrase of my mom's, you're my hero! Really, you are truly always there for me, in good times and in bad. You've proved that over the short time we've been married. I'm so happy that you're stuck to this ball and chain forever! (We'll just say that this specific ball is a bouncy, fun, round beach ball, and the chain is just... um, decorative. A little less daunting, then, right?) You are ambitious, and a great example to me of moral uprightness and righteous living. You are filled with love, and showed our baby girl how much you love her every day. You continue to show her every day. You are a wonderful father, the best father our baby Chloe could have had. And she sure loves you.

Like father, like daughter. Really, a chip off the ol' block.

2010-05-26T14:35:00.000-07:00

We've been here in Durham, North Carolina for a week and a half now and are almost unpacked! Sometimes looking at our apartment is a little discouraging, but then I remind myself that I could just throw everything away that's in my way, and that helps me feel a lot better. It's wonderful to be in our own space and be all on our own again, although we do miss family around us.

I've begun a new project: reupholstering kitchen chairs. I wasn't initially planning on it being "quite a project" but it has the makings of one. Ethan's wonderful mother bequeathed to us a solid oak dining room table and six chairs. Everything is in incredible shape, considering that the set is 25 years old, but I've got this hair in my brain to reupholster the chairs. Before I began, I looked under the chairs and saw the staples. "No biggie," I thought, "I'll just pop those out and staple new fabric on." After spending 4 hours prying 500 staples out of one chair, I'm discovering that this might be deemed as "quite a project." I'm still hopeful, though, that I will love the process.

Ethan is really excited about school. He has two days of orientation, then school officially begins Tuesday, June 1. He's really looking forward to being back in school and is very excited about his classes this summer, Contracts and Civil Procedure. Doesn't sound like a basket of fun to me, but he's thrilled. Today, though, he's setting up the Wii. Our home wouldn't be complete without one! (In fact, he just turned around with the Wii home screen blazing to life behind him, and said, "It's home now!")

The first thing we unpacked were Chloe's pictures. She's smiling down on us, hopefully in more ways than just in our frames. We still, and will always, miss her so much. In the mornings I wake up and wait for her sounds but know they won't come. It's hard to feel at home without her here with us. Comfort is always found, though, in her loving memory and the sure knowledge that we will see her again.

Another video for Chloe's adoring fans.

2010-04-29T14:55:00.000-07:00

One of our last recordings of Chloe, with her Bappa and Nana. There are a series of 5 videos with her and Bappa playing, which are all very sweet and will probably be posted on this blog, video by video, in the future. But we felt like this one was an appropriate first.

The below slideshow are some snapshots of our trip to Hawaii. Thank you to everyone who helped us get there and survive during our stay! Because of the generosity of so many, we were able to have a very relaxing and rejuvenating experience. We spent a lot of time outside exploring and appreciating the beauty of Hawaii, handmade by the Divine. It was much needed and very much appreciated. We've been so touched by the love and support of family and friends, and this is another testament to us that Christlike people are all around us. Thank you all again for everything you do for us.

In Memory of Chloe Hazel Blevins

2010-02-28T00:25:00.000-08:00

On a ferry crossing the Puget Sound, our little girl suddenly died in my arms. She laid her head against my chest and her breathing halted. She didn’t grin and wave so hard that her whole body wiggled—the way she would say goodbye. She didn’t draw her hand down her face to say sleep—the second sign language she ever learned. She just closed her eyes and died.

It felt like the progress of time split into two worlds. It forked one way into a future where Chloe still breathed, smiled, laughed, and recovered in a few days from a mild fever and stomach illness. Somehow, in that bewildering eddy where the universe tore in two, we ended up on the other fork, in which our boat docked ten minutes later at the Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal, and hers landed upon the shores of death.

Katrina and I rushed her upstairs as soon as her breathing stopped. The boat sat in the dock for forty minutes while a flurry of medical personnel swarmed around her tiny body. We stood to the side and watched. I thought of the crowds of people waiting to board the ferry, thought of their irritation and ignorance, knew I would have been no different if I had been among them. The world should pause before the spectacle of tragedy. Any act unassociated with our catastrophe, a laugh, the honk of a horn, the boarding of a boat, the tying of a shoe, would’ve been terrible blasphemies in the face of our baby’s death.

A weak pulse emerged, and the EMTs immediately moved her to the ambulance. Katrina rode with the EMTs, and I followed behind. Cars pulled to the side and traffic lights froze. The ambulance quickly outpaced me, and I melded with the tired flow of traffic on I-5. I looked into the faceless eyes of thousands of red taillights stretching out along the freeway, and along with constant petitions to God, I spoke to them. I cried out to them, implored them, reasoned with them, my unknown and unknowing companions on that grim journey.

When I made it to the emergency room, a medical army surrounded Chloe. For the first time, a glow of hope touched the dark contours of the evening. We sat in a corner of the ER and listened, our hearts breaking and mending with the meandering course of the doctors’ deliberations. Have we lost the pulse? Can someone tell me if we’ve lost the pulse? No, we still have the pulse. We’ve lost the pulse. Pulse is back. Glucose, insulin, epinephrine, hope, fear, death, prayer, darkness, light.

There is one terrible moment that stands out like a shadow in a dark place. Mothers are perfectly attuned to their baby’s cry. Something happens after nine months of that baby floating in a fluid thrumming with the soft sounds of the mother’s voice. A bond is made and their voices become as one. A blind-folded mother will find their baby in the midst of a hurricane of squalling children. It’s an inexorable law. Chloe had been silent and comatose from the moment she stopped breathing in the car. As the horde of doctors scrambled about and hope diminished, a baby’s cry arose. It sounded just like Chloe. Katrina looked up with the eyes of a scared little girl and listened. “Chloe’s crying,” she said softly. We listened for a moment longer. “No, it’s coming from the other room,” I said. Hope made a swift descent from that point.

They wheeled her bed into the ICU, and let us come close to watch. A nurse continued to compress her little chest with a couple of fingers. The lead ER doctor knelt beside us with tears in her eyes and told us they were going to stop.

I love that little girl. Behind a curtain in a hospital room that I had never entered before and will never enter again, we held our baby and wept with a small crowd of family. A tube with a small streak of blood ran out her nose. A device used to attach a respirator was still clamped over her mouth, and she was wrapped in a thin hospital blanket. We took turns holding her. I sang to her the song I used to sing to Katrina’s belly when she was pregnant. I kissed her cold forehead.

During the two nights preceding Chloe’s death, she had slept very little. She cried and whined, and we spent the majority of those nights with her. I now know that time was a precious gift. At about 4AM Friday morning, as I spent my round with Chloe that night, I sat her on the ground and spent about ten minutes rolling her ball back and forth. It was pink, made of thin rubber, about the size of a cantaloupe. She was too tired to play for long, so I put her back to bed and listened to her soft pathetic cries on the monitor in our bedroom. We didn’t know that her heart was beginning to fail.

Her monitor has remained in our room, plugged in. Before we fall asleep at night, I still wait to hear a babble, a whine, a cry come through the speaker. The monitor has a row of tiny bulbs that light up when it registers noise in Chloe’s room. During a few of the nights that have followed her passing, I’ve seen those little red lights glow faintly, as if the monitor continues to follow Chloe and listens to the soft voices of those who died young.

I love being Chloe’s daddy—messy, time-consuming, exasperating, and idyllic. I loved to watch her sign, wave, clap, point into empty space, and blabber about nothing. I loved to hold her. I loved it when she would grab my collar to pull herself closer to me. I love her purity, her love, her everything.

She was a tiny despot. Chloe dictated when we slept, how we spent free time, where we went. She was the hub of our wheel, the hypotenuse of our triangle. She was silent in every family decision, but she determined the parameters of them all. I have never been happier. I don’t want the spare time that has been freed by her parting. I don’t want the extra sleep at night. I don’t want the money we’ll save. I don’t want the freedom of childless parents. I want my daughter. I want to press my lips into the soft depth of her cheek. I want to be a happy slave again, ruled not by the crack of a whip, but by the beam of a smile. The iron fist of a king will never wield more authority over me than the clapping of her chubby hands.

She still retains that power over my heart, where I will forever carry her. But there is much more that Katrina and I can hope for. The testimony of the living Christ also lives within our hearts. Because of him, we will be with our Chloe again. Because of him, “there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ. He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death.” (Mosiah 16:8-9)

There exists a language that contains the words that could adequately express my gratitude for the promise that we will reunite again with Chloe for eternity. I know Chloe speaks that language. It is the language of pure and perfect love. We will learn to speak it in all our conversation, read it in the eyes of those who love us, and write it with our smiles, our devotion, and our actions. Then we’ll be ready to greet Chloe in the tongue that she spoke in every moment of her life from birth to death.

Chloe Hazel Blevins' Funeral

2010-02-25T01:02:00.000-08:00

As I am sure most of you have heard, Chloe passed away last Friday evening suddenly. It appears that she had a significant defect in her heart that had been undetected by medical professionals. There will be more to follow this post in the future, but we wanted to let everyone know who might be able to come that the funeral will be Thursday, February 25th, 6:30 pm at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints building on Vashon Island. The address is 9330 204th Ave sw. If you are able to and would like to come honor Chloe, please consider this your invitation.

Teddy Bear

2010-02-08T09:27:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago my dad was at his twin sister's house helping her pack up for a move. Among the things to go was this huge teddy bear, for whom my dad said he'd find a good home. En route to my nephew in Tacoma, my dad brought the fuzzy monstrosity inside to show us. Seeing these in the store is much different than in your living room. They seem to grow once they're purchased. Chloe was intimidated. Not to the point of scared, but wary. It didn't take long though, for her to warm up, and I was able to get some cute pictures. Looking at her compared to the teddy bear, I seriously wonder if she will ever out-grow (emotionally or physically) a friend like that. Anyway, thanks to Ammon, Chole's big cousin, for sharing his surprise with her for a few minutes!

It's a little blurry, but most of the pictures are when she's smiling! She likes to move when she's happy.

This white bear she got for Christmas and it took her a couple of weeks to be excited to play with it. I think she was intimidated by it's size, so this big brown bear was a huge step for her.

The Holidays

2010-01-08T17:03:00.000-08:00

Here I am two months later, and what started out being the Thanksgiving post, then the Thanksgiving and California trip post, has turned into the Holiday post. So I think I am finally resigned to the idea of me being a sporadic and imbalanced blogger, posting in plentiful bursts of picture and word, the bulk of which being about Chloe, then abandoning our family publicity for some time. For our few but faithful followers, I apologize but will say for myself, at least on our subject matter you couldn't complain, and neither could she; Chloe's used to being the center of attention!

Thanksgiving was wonderful! My sister Andra and I, (with assistance from the other Ladies Combs), planned and carried out as traditional a Thanksgiving dinner as we could with 10 adults and 10 children under 10. We had the works: Turkey, Ham, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing, salad, spinach gratin, rolls, pies, and a couple other things I can't remember (but who could blame me. Look at that list!) We had a great time, although we were exhausted afterward. There's nothing like cooking for the people you love with the people you love!

Chloe surprised us late that night by throwing up on her mama. This was her first bona fide sickness, which I'm grateful didn't come sooner. It turned out she had an ear infection which the doctor said was probably in both ears, but one of her ear canals is too narrow to see down. Poor little mite! It's been one little illness after another since then, but she seems almost recovered today and is curious about the rain.

The middle of December we headed down to California to visit Ethan's dad, Win, his wife, Meredith, and her daughter, Allegra. Allegra and family were visiting from Ireland and it was my first meeting. It was wonderful! We spent time with family, especially Allegra's two confident, friendly, and boisterous kids, Caleb and Sienna. We had a great time enjoying everyone's company and building family relationships down there. We felt so welcome.

After our return from Cali, Christmas came too soon. It was a remarkably quiet morning, but the afternoon livened up with my two brothers and families and my sister and her family. We did breakfast for dinner, which I think everyone enjoyed, but I don't know whether we'll do it again. After sugar highs induced by cany canes, chocolate Santa's, and other treats, I think syrupy waffles was the last straw in launching everyone into a "hard ball stage" of comatose. Everyone seemed to rally well and the evening ended with an always-entertaining gift exchange and some games.

A very special book for Christmas from Grandma.

New Year's Eve was... chill. (Can I still say that?) Ethan and I went out to dinner with my sis, Amber, and a friend, then we came back to her apartment and watched a movie. Risky, I know, but we felt like riding the edge. Midnight came and Ethan and I were almost asleep before the clock struck 12.

Since then, 2010 has been a fantastic year, and we look forward to the new surprises and changes it brings. We hope 2010 is the best year yet for all of you, too!

Chloe's 1st Birthday!

2009-11-17T12:06:00.000-08:00

We're amazed that we have a one-year-old now! Chloe celebrated her first birthday by going to Children's Hospital for a check up, blood draw, and flu shot. After a teary shot, the nurse brought in a big birthday present bag with a giant teapot, a book, and a stuffed lamb. They wanted to make sure she didn't have any negative associations with them or the hospital. She, like all babies, has a talent for making everyone feel sorry for her when she's sad. We had a little birthday party for her that night, which she was too grumpy to enjoy and she was sent to bed before the birthday cake was served. The pictures tell her feelings that night more than any words.

A couple days later, with a better attitude, we decided she could have her cake for dinner, so we put a piece of each cake on her tray and sat down to our spaghetti dinner. After force-feeding her a bite of each type of cake and making every "yucky food" face we've seen, we decided to just let her play with it. But all she did was watch as Katrina took each bite of her pasta. Expecting Chloe to withdraw, Katrina offered her a taste of the slightly spicy sauce and she was hooked. Other new foods she loves include (but are not excluded to) pickles (pictured), sourdough bread, broccoli, apples, and steak (she sucked on it).

Ethan and I set some goals for Chloe before she turns two. We recognize that we really don't have total control over these aspirations, but thought it would be a great goal-setting exercise for her!

1. SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT! (Please!!)
2. learn to crawl
3. Learn to walk
4. Say "mama" ("dada" was conquered awhile ago)
5. grow more teeth
6. poke and pinch objects
7. hold her bottle

So at 26 inches and 14 pounds, Chloe is officially one year old! Happy birthday, Chloe!!

2009-09-26T09:40:00.000-07:00

Wow! After our good intentions and goal-setting of updating out blog weekly, we've let it slide again! It's been over a month!

Things are going well with our cozy island life. It's been a beautiful summer and we're trying to enjoy the last beams of sunlight before the pillow-like grey clouds take up winter residence over the Seattle area. I would say it's too bad they don't travel south for the winter too, but we both love the fall and appreciate a wet winter. But, if you come back in March and see what we have to say about the rain, we might be singing a different tune.

Ethan's still working hard at the Buck Law Group. He's really enjoying his job and is excited about the experience. Besides work, he's up to his elbows in law school applications, LSAT practicing, and diapers. He's forcing himself to get enough sleep this week so he'll be ready to take the LSAT again today. Of course, any prayers and good thoughts sent his way are appreciated!

Katrina's enjoying her time at home with Chloe and is gearing up to start working next week in the afternoons doing some childcare, etc. Last night she went to "Wicked" with two of her sisters, and was reminded of how much she loves live musicals when they're really good. And this was.

Of course we'll tell you Chloe is getting cuter and cuter every day. She cut her first tooth a few weeks ago and we think she's cutting another one because she's so grumpy. She has adjusted to two naps and sleeps through the night much better. We're working on sounds like "mama" (she's got the "dadada" thing down pat), and on crawling and standing.

I would post pictures, but for some reason blogspot isn't letting me. So, pictures to come!

2009-08-26T21:10:00.000-07:00

Chloe loves playing with toys and exploring new textures, colors, and some flavors. But nothing gets her as thrilled as her dolls. We took Madeline to China with us because she responded better to her bright hair and contrasting clothes than this little pink doll. Recently, though, she's completely taken by this baby doll, and can't contain her joy when she sees her doll's little face. What a sweetie.

2009-08-17T09:50:00.000-07:00

It's been an exciting month and a half, and we are finally posting it!

The first is that Ethan started work a few weeks ago at Buck Law Group, a law firm in Downtown Seattle that specializes in land use and environmental law. It was a fast process from applying to hiring. Ethan's trainer completed his last day on Thursday, so he's on his own now, but is looking forward to learning all he can and is excited to have a job that will give him some experience in the legal world.

A big thank you to everyone who contacted people, kept their eyes out for jobs, sent on Ethan's resume, provided support, and were all around wonderful to us during his job search. We've been so blessed to have such a fantastic group of friends and an unwaivering family. Thank you again for all of your help.

As far as the rest of our family, Chloe and Katrina have missed Ethan during the day, but are excited that he's working! Most of the summer has been spent hanging out with friends and family, and tring to keep life simple, which sometimes turns out to be a success. Chloe's gone to Children's a couple times to be assessed for difficulty gaining weight, her neurodevelopmental progress, and her vision. She also has physical, speech, and occupational therapists who are making sure she's progressing. She continues to impress us with her tenacity and curiosity which keeps her moving, and her generally sweet disposition. As her cousin Emma said last week about Chloe, "What's not to love?" We can't really think of anything either.

Something worth watching

2009-07-04T10:34:00.000-07:00

Chloe's physical therapist sent us this video about a dance team in Florida called Company D, a dance team of youth with Down syndrome. It's a touching story of achievement and human triumph. Check it out here.

Duty calls

2009-06-09T21:33:00.000-07:00

In order to preserve the social order of our dusty corner of the blogosphere, conscience and Katrina have constrained me to update the blog. Consistency enslaves its own creators, so now our past faithfulness has resulted in an eternal obligation to post on our blog or else suffer ignominy at the hands of family and friends.

We've been back from China for 6 weeks now and have settled in to Vashon life again. Chloe has been meeting with the Birth to Three program here on the Island. She's recently been working on sitting up and can now successfully sit for a few seconds at a time. Very exciting!

Katrina spends her days taking care of Chloe, cooking, reading, and spending time with family. Ethan is still hitting the cyberspace pavement, and has been networking like crazy, but nothing promising has surfaced yet. We are both looking forward to the day when something will, but until then we are enjoying evenings of beautiful weather the Northwest is experiencing and know it will all work out.

Ethan and Katrina happy to be back and no longer sleeping in the livingroom in China. Chris and Marilyn have been so generous in letting us stay with them. Everyone has been so supportive and understanding. Thank you!

Chloe getting loves from her buddy and cousin, Maggie. Even though Chloe is the first in the Blevins Family, she's number 21 in the line up of cousins on her mom's side. She has a wide variety of personalities and examples for her. She's a lucky baby to have so many little people that love her.
When we got back from China, we decided to start Chloe on foods. After her first bite of a new type of food she squishes up her face and gives a little shutter, but has been very open to new tastes. Her favorite is full-fat vanilla yogurt, but she can't quite get excited about applesauce.

In this picture, it looks like she's sporting either the vegetable turkey dinner, carrots, or sweet potatoes. And yes, she did get some of it in ther mouth! It's a little mysterious that they all taste similar....
Happy girl! This was maybe a week after we got back from Beijing. She loved spending time in this chair, and was really excited to have someone play with her.

Her smiles and laughs come much more often now, although it seems like she saves most of her smiles for her nana. That's ok. We're just the parents.

At the Great Wall

2009-05-03T22:44:00.000-07:00

Although we were wondering if we'd be able to make it before we left China, we finally visited The Great Wall as one of our last hoorahs! Ethan planned the trip out with Kaho, an IBJ employee who was incredibly helpful choosing the site we would visit, the subway and bus connections, and what we should bring with us. So April 24th was our Great Wall day and after we took the subway to the designated location, we ran into some confusion with the buses and ended up taking the wrong number, which got us closer to the wall, but not close enough. From there we took a black taxi the rest of the way.

We chose to take the cable car up to the wall so we could save our energy for the wall itself. Built on a line of mountain peaks, the wall is a constant string of stairs, either up or down, inturrupted by towers. There is a beautiful view in every direction, and we visited on the perfect day. It was overwhelming to see such an expansive and ancient structure and although Ethan had been there about 10 years ago, we both were so glad we had made it important enough to go.

There are also a few pictures in the slideshow of Ethan's cousin Fred with Chloe on our last visit to Joan's in Beijing. The Engst's were so wonderful to us and we are so grateful for their help. We're glad we had the opportunity to get to know them better and hope we're able to see them again soon!

Release the hounds!

2009-04-24T15:45:00.000-07:00

Ethan has begun the job hunt in the Seattle area.

Next best option is this cool McDonald's in Beijing:

He's interested in law, government, and non-profit organizations engaged in politics. He's also interested in any positions that would allow him to use and develop his writing skills. He submits his request for any suggestions, tips, contacts, encouragements, and prayers.

Think of Chloe...

Summer Palace

2009-04-14T05:10:00.000-07:00

We only got a few pictures of the summer palace because I wasn't feeling very well that day. So we only stayed there for a couple hours, but it was still very eventful! We were able to see the biggest mass of water since flying over the Pacific, Chloe was photographed naked while we were trying to change her diaper, and we saw more foreigners there than we have collectively since being in China (including church). Big day.

2009-04-14T04:57:00.000-07:00

On Easter Sunday night, Katrina was getting Chloe ready for bed and had the idea of putting Chloe's bloomers on her head so she'd look like a baker. She's not pulling off the baker image, but Katrina thought it was pretty cute.

If you look closely, you can also tell that Chloe's onesie sleeves are jagged. We only had long-sleeved white ones and a pink one was too noticeable under her white dress. So, we did some creative problem-solving.

This picture also clearly shows Chloe performing her new favorite passtime: blowing bubbles and spitting between her lips.

I bet you'll never guess,,,

2009-04-14T04:45:00.000-07:00

(I couldn't tell you what it would be excellent in, because that would be too easy :)

Hint: This product is yellow

Here are a couple of the many labels for daily things that are translated into English. Can you guess what products they're describing?

Tan Zhe Temple

2009-04-14T04:19:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago we went with some of Ethan's office staff to the Tan Zhe temple. It was a long day for Chloe, but as always, she was a model baby. We loved it! From what we learned the original temple location was built about 1700 years ago. With the backdrop of the mountains, trees, and bamboo, it is the perfect location, and a place we probably wouldn't have made it to on our own. Ethan's co-workers are wonderful.

Soooo Big!

2009-03-30T07:37:00.000-07:00

We give Chloe a bath most nights. She had a phobia of baths for awhile, but she got over it suddenly a few weeks ago when we put a toy in there with her. She splashes around and has a jolly old time. Afterward, she's usually in the best mood of the day.

Eat your hearts out Emma and Zach

2009-03-30T07:21:00.000-07:00

So, this is for Emma and Zach, who requested us to bring a panda home. This is as close as it'll get. The crazy alien sounds are coming from a kid next to me shooting the panda with his bubble gun. On Saturday, we went to the Beijing Zoo, which is chalk full of everything you can imagine. The pandas cost extra to see, naturally. We went straight there, and this video sapped the waning battery life of our camera. So we'll just tell you what we saw: red pandas, snub-nosed monkeys (with blue bums!), a jackal, mini foxes, wolves, Asiatic black bears, grizzlies, lions, tigers, white tigers, a panther, a jaguar, kangaroos, and elephants. Some of it was a little sad, like watching people chuck stuff at the bears, and seeing the elephants in 30x30 cages (they do have a dirt patch they get to hang out in too). It was really neat to see the animals though.

The Temple of Heaven

2009-03-30T06:54:00.001-07:00

The Temple of Heaven park is a few blocks from the Pearl Market. It's a welcome reprieve from cement, glass, and steel. And mysterious stenches. It's a haven of trees and grass, and it smells good! It cost a few yuan to get in. A stereo played near the entrance where a bunch of people were dancing. Old couples were shuffling, and a few ladies were jammin' by themselves, all to different beats. People singing opera wandered around the paths, and people played instruments under the long pavilions.
We found the entrance to the Temple of Heaven area, which we had to pay more to get into (we've found that this is a common tactic). But no one was at the ticket booth! We rounded up a few girls who worked there talking to each other. "Can we get some tickets?" "The temple closes at 5!" "But it's 4." "But it closes at 5." "It's 4!" "Well, you can buy tickets at the ticket booth." "There's no one there." "Really? [Something I didn't understand.]" "Uhm... there isn't anyone there." "Hey! Come out of there, someone wants to get a ticket!" She went up and knocked on the door and a lady sold us tickets.
The pictures tell you the story about the inside. We bought a ten yuan kite while we wandered around, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. On the way home, a gaggle of teen girls came up and fawned over Chloe, shrieking and jumping up and down. One of them held her. When we got off the subway, they screamed with sorrow. Literally. We think her aversion to being held by other people was born there. People are seriously baby crazed here. It's endearing. They only get one chance!

Faith Pie

2009-03-29T07:41:00.001-07:00

As we hurdled through the streets of Beijing crammed with some friends in the back of a taxi, one of them said, "I had a weird thought the other day. In the US, I would pray for the nation, the nation's leaders and its people, you know. That was just 300 million people or so. But now, in China, when I pray for the country, I'm praying for a whole 1.3 billion people! So I was thinking, maybe it takes more faith when you're praying for more people."
"Kind of like a faith pie that you divide up among the people you're praying for," I said. "If your faith pie that you give to China is as big as the one that you give to the US, then the Chinese don't get quite as much."

A faith pie that you slice up and distribute among the people you pray for? We went on this subject for awhile. A little facetious and inaccurate, but may have some metaphoric value. I thought of a dilemma with faith pies though. If I bake up a big faith pie praying for China, then is the sum of the pieces as valuable as just giving the whole thing to a single individual? What if the distribution is too sparse to do much good if it's divided among too many people? And if I'm praying for multiple people, it seems like I should be careful to not sneak a bigger piece to my wife than to the elevator boy at our apartment complex looking for a job. That doesn't seem nice.

Also, what if a whole bunch of us are shipping huge faith pie pieces to one person? Is it possible for them to get a surplus of faith pie pieces, while someone who really needs pie isn't getting enough? I suppose we could coordinate our efforts to make sure that pieces of faith pie are being distributed fairly and according to peoples' needs.

There's no breakdown in the delivery system, but there could be a problem with ensuring that pie's destinations meet everybody's needs, and there aren't big conglomerations of pie pieces piled up on someone's doorstep when someone in ample need of grace has too little. I don't think pie pieces should be distributed evenly across the board, just to make sure everyone gets what they need. President Monson needs a lot of pie, and I'm sure he gets it. Hopefully we're mindful enough to remember to give some big pieces to those who aren't quite as prone to frequent our thoughts but need us nonetheless.

Behind closed doors

2009-03-24T01:16:00.000-07:00

Put Chloe down. The birds are chirping in the trees (only proverbially, in reality the home-made bike engines are belching in the streets), the sun is warming the curtains, all is well.

WhaBAM!!

The whiny sounds for the last half hour may have sounded like "I refuse to sleep" bark, but we enter to find that they were baby Bruce Lee sounds while she practiced her kung fu.

How she does it, we may never know. She seems confused too.

A Sentimental Journey

2009-03-22T17:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday after lunch we laid down for a much-anticipated Sunday afternoon nap and I felt a sensation I wasn't fully prepared for. I looked at Ethan and said, "I miss Rexburg." Now I was expecting and have felt the longing for Vashon Island with some of my family, clean air, and abundance of green, but missing south-east Idaho caught me off guard. I enjoyed my time there, but felt like I was so ready to leave that I failed to recognize completely the wonderful place it is. We spent some time talking about things we missed in our Idaho home, specifically our fabulous friends and incredible family there. I was surprised to be missing our basement apartment. With it's little quirks it still feels like home in some ways. I miss sourdough pancakes at Smitty's (although I hear Kneader's in Provo is better), taking walks, campus, driving past potato fields and pastures, having the temple so close, sunsets, not the wind and snow but definitely the fresh mornings. People in Jackson, Rexburg, and Idaho Falls. So we may be crossing the line of sentimentality, but just so you know, Idaho, we miss you.

Chloe's Hangouts

2009-03-12T21:19:00.000-07:00

Our apartment is really small which is perfect for an 11 pound baby. It's still enormous to her! These are the places she spends her awake time when we're at home.

Chloe got a play gym and spends a good part of her awake time here. She's holding her favorite toy in this picture: a plastic cookie monster with a couple rings that are good for grabbing. Also, you can see one of the scary monkeys is about to bite her on the diaper.

We were so excited she finally fit into this dress that we thought we would do a little photo shoot. Although we covered the couch with blankets, that's where she's at. Such a good sport.

This is Ethan's new favorite picture of Chloe. What could she be thinking about? Maybe she's trying to read the blue Chinese characters stamped on the side of the light fixture above her head. Or she could be calculating the optimal timing for her next bowel movement (those seem to take a lot of planning lately). Perhaps she's just enjoying the ruse to keep us in suspense. But, I guess we'll never know.

Chloe and dad chillin' on the bed after a long day at the office and a long day sleeping, eating, and playing.

The incredible firmness of this mattress has proved to be a great place to play with Chloe and help her move and learn new things. It's probably a step up from sleeping on a bench; a step down from sleeping on nice carpet.

Or maybe this is Ethan's new favorite picture....

This girl loves getting her diaper changed! (This is the coffee table converted into her changing table.) Who could blame her? Nothing but good comes from that spot and she gets undivided attention. This is one of her favorite hangouts.

Cribs

2009-03-11T07:10:00.000-07:00

Here are the various environments by which we've tried to crush Chloe's tenacity for staying awake. Whenever we hear a forlorn squawk a little too early and a little too often, we switch to a new bed. As you can see, Chloe has taken over our bedroom. We moved the mattress into the other room. The one other room. Sleeping, cooking, eating, playing and... don't worry we do have a bathroom... all of it in the same room messes with your mental compartments a bit.

90 degree angles and plywood. Effective until she kept whacking the sides with her hands. We don't know if it mattered to her, but we figured we might as well retire it back to the closet it came from.

The previous director of IBJ in China had a wee one before she went back to the states. She left this basket with my supervisor, so he kindly passed it on. Apparently there's a market for babies that are three feet long and wide as a forearm. In any case, Chloe seems to have enjoyed it!

The deluxe crib. Chloe's grandparents' suitcase. It's wide enough, but she crams herself into one corner of it. Too much freedom is a dangerous thing, after all.

Laughing Girl

2009-03-03T11:50:00.000-08:00

The best time to catch her smiling or laughing is right when she wakes up. She'd already been playing with Katrina for a few minutes before this video was taken, but we got some good laughing on camera.

Holding her head!

2009-03-03T11:18:00.000-08:00

For those of you who requested a video, here is Chloe holding up her head. She is loving the sitting position lately so she can hold her head up, and fights being laid down.

Mystery Grocery Item Revealed!

2009-03-01T21:36:00.000-08:00

For those who were playing, nice guesses, but unfortunately none were right. The correct answer is milk. That's right. This is a picture of individual-size containers of milk in a grocery sack. The bags are kind of like how Capri Suns are packaged, except no straw hole. So, melamine was a close guess. (Seriously, though, let's hope not.)

waste management, cheap treasure, and a sick valentine

2009-03-01T05:48:00.000-08:00

We visited the Pearl Market last weekend. It's a huge indoor market with vendors selling shoes, pearls, wallets, and everything else. Outside the Pearl Market, we found a 220 volt power cord for the Wii!! That's the only important thing to say about the Pearl Market, but since some of you may be concerned with the more petty contrivances of life (just kidding), I suppose I'll describe the more inferior goods that we found at the market. We bought a bunch of pearl jewelry and some Chinese outfits. Katrina did the serious haggling, since Ethan couldn't wipe the apologetic look of compassion off of his face whenever he tried to lower their prices. All the vendors at the market were trying to get us to stop so that they could look at Chloe, allegedly. What a cute baby! How about a wallet? kind of a thing. They did seem to love her, though, and it took us about an hour longer than it would've because we kept stopping so people could squeeze her legs, click at her and chide us for taking her out before nine months, dressing her too lightly, and letting her look at the lights. This is a lady that we bought some cufflinks and a pearl necklace from. She said, "since you speak Chinese, I'll give it to you for [I don't remember how much it was]. Ethan said, "How about you give it to us for [Whatever I said} since] since we have such a cute baby." She laughed, slapped me on the arm and gave us the discount without trying to raise the price.

Katrina got sick on Valentine's Day, but she still looks gorgeous. Ethan went to Wal-mart and brought back these flowers. We chilled with Chloe in the apt all day.

Waste Management of Beijing. In the picture with the trash bags, there is in fact a guy riding the bike in front of the bags, he's just a bit smothered. There really isn't room for large trucks such as garbage trucks and semis, and they haven't established the infrastructure, in many cases, to facilitate their use. As a result, bikes are often the way that a lot of stuff gets transported to and from businesses. That's more true in the rural areas, but not always.

This just seemed like a cool picture because her eyes look so blue!

Chloe speaks

2009-02-19T04:57:00.000-08:00

Chloe speaks out on infancy in China, the horror of baths, cruel and unusual parents, and constipation.

Chloe chews out mom for putting her in the bath again.

After finishing with mom, Chloe has a friendly chat with papa.

Mystery Grocery Item

2009-02-19T04:19:00.000-08:00

This is a typical grocery item (in the states as well as China) that Ethan picked up on his way home from work yesterday. Can anyone guess what it is?

Little Lady

2009-02-19T04:13:00.000-08:00

Chloe has been sucking on her thumb since before she was born (we have the ultra sound to prove it!), and she's continued with the habit, but has picked up on a new comfort of grabbing a fistful of hair at the same time. This does go bad every once in awhile when she gets really upset that someone is pulling too hard on her hair (which makes her arm constrict and pulls her hair harder). She's learning, though, and it's pretty cute to see new habits emerging.

Not without a lot of hard work and exercise, Chloe woke up yesterday morning with a new-found realization that she has a neck and she knows how to use it!

Snow in Beijing

2009-02-19T03:55:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's been snowing here in Beijing. For the past few days we've woken up to about an inch. It's been mostly melted by the afternoon, but then there's more the next day. Ethan's cousin said this should be the last cold of the season. We are really hoping so! Katrina's getting a little stir-crazy staying in the apartment with Chloe.

Rolling over and eating

2009-02-14T22:10:00.000-08:00

Chloe is getting good at the rolling over bit, but only if the arm on the side that she's rolling toward is stuck under her. It's been an interesting few days since you last heard from us.

We've been eating out a lot, since eating out costs roughly the same as staying at home. Plus, it's kind of hard to cook here. We've only got a small electric hotplate, and it's a bit hard to find things that we know how or want to cook. There are a lot of restaurants in the vicinity of the apartment. We've had some good and bad experiences. Ordering at most places is kind of like Russian roullette, except that the gun is about half-loaded with different kinds of bullets: way too spicy, way too odd, way too unidentifiable, way too old, or way too not for a Westerners' pallet (p.c. for gross.) The other half is totally delectable. We've found about three places nearby that are consistently good. The most entertaining place is about a 10 minute walk toward the Renmin University, which is quite close. It's a hotpot restaurant. If you're unfamiliar, hotpot restaurants have a single burner in the center of every dining table, where they put a big pot of broth, which can come as spicy, sour, and so on. Then you order stuff to put in the hotpot, raw meat, veggies, tofu, etc., and you cook it all right there. At a lot of restaurants they have a greeter outside the restaurant who tries to lure you in and then escorts you. The greeter called in reinforcements and about three people clung to Chloe's stroller while they herded us onto the elevator up to the restaurant. I think every server in the whole restaurant at some point came by to take care of us, including the owner. A swarm of about five servers hovered around us for the first ten minutes or so, and after that we got a visit every thirty seconds or so. Eventually, they only came by every few minutes.
Ethan can't read the menus very well, but fortunately he caught the character for brain next to the pig character before he ordered it. The owner visited us a few times too and gave Katrina a fragrance bag as a gift for coming. As we left, she pushed Chloe's stroller to the escalator while a vanguard of bouncing waitresses followed behind us. Katrina commented after we left that if there was an emergency she was going to come right away to that restaurant, and she was sure they'd take care of her.
Unfortunately, our first major food tragedy occurred on Valentine's day. We've been getting cheap breakfasts from a nearby vendor who makes these tasty little egg crepe thingies. But on V-day morning one of them made Katrina sick, so we spent Valentine's Day laid up in the apartment. We ordered Papa John's for V-day dinner, which was surprisingly good. Katrina's feeling a bit better now.

Settling in

2009-02-10T06:03:00.000-08:00

We've finally gotten internet up and running in the apartment! There is a lot to write about, so we'll get down to business. On Sunday the 1st, Ethan went into the city to meet up with his Chinese friend living in Beijing, Dragon. Dragon had taken it upon himself to find us an apartment, and so he'd already scoped out a place. They visited the apartment, and after approving it, they went to a dingy Century 21 office and the landlord tucked them away in a small fluorescent lit cigarette drenched conference room where the landlor and Dragon yelled at eachother in unintelligible Chinese for awhile (yelling is a normal, amiable way of communicating in China, seriously). Documents passed back and forth, and Ethan came out figuring he'd either been sold an apartment or sold into a human trafficking ring in Thailand. Turned out to be the former, so we moved in the following day. Ethan's mom's cousin (is that once removed?), Billy, helped us get situated. That night Katrina stayed home and got things situated while Ethan went shopping at Carrefour, a multi-level shopping nightmare with crazy music, scary meat, and lots of bodies. But it's cheap. We shopped there three days in a row. It's about a 20 minute walk from our apartment. Then we took a taxi to Wal-mart, which was a dramatic improvement.

The apartment has a washing machine, bath, microwave, refrigerator, and a huge flat screen tv. It also has a single electric hotplate for cooking, end of story. Katrina's been learning to cope with that. Fortunately, it is literally no more expensive to eat out than it is to eat, so we do eat out a lot.

Ethan started work last Thursday. So far he has cataloged the closet and done some research on public defender standards in other Asian countries. Things are slow right now, because employees are still on vacation from the spring festival.

Speaking of the spring festival, Beijing is like Normandy on D-day during the holidays. Fireworks seem to be the primary means of communicating their holiday cheer here. Anyway, last night was the Lantern Festival, and we were afraid that Chloe was going to go deaf. It's fun to watch though. Every evening since we've been here except tonight has been punctuated by blasts from fireworks and firecrackers all over the city. Their main form of fire safety is placing a whole bunch of fire extinguishers out all over the streets. There is no single designated area for fireworks, they just go off everywhere, no matter how big they are. A major hotel under construction burnt down last night because of fireworks.

Chloe's been doing great. She's on a good schedule now. We've just started to lay her down awake and let her put herself to sleep. Works like a charm, and she's sleeping a lot more now.

There's lots more to say and it will be said, but we're stopping here for now. Chloe's apartment tour wasn't complete, but we thought we'd put up in here now anyway. We're having a lot of fun, and we're excited to be here. We'll write much more very soon!

Slideshow of the journey thus far

2009-01-31T14:20:00.000-08:00

大家好！

2009-01-31T02:21:00.000-08:00

We're in Beijing, and we're safe and well. We drove to Vancouver on Wednesday and flew out on Thursday at 12:30. The flight was about 13 hours. Chloe didn't sleep except for a few brief spurts, but she was pretty quiet. It may help her adjust to the time change, hopefully! The Beijing airport is beyond gigantic. We wandered around until we got our luggage and found a cab. Unfortunately, we totally got ripped off by the cab driver, but we know better now. He got lost a lot trying to find Ethan's great aunt Joan's house, but we got there without much trouble. There's a lot of people milling in and out of Joan's place, all of whom are very nice and helpful. We are going to check out an apartment that Ethan's friend has found for us, and we'll hopefully be on our way to our own apartment fairly soon. Chloe is a little sick. Her cheeks are ruddy, she's got a cough, and she spit up more than usual today. Ethan's great aunt Joan has an interesting story. She worked on the atom bomb in Los Alamos and seriously disapproved of the US bombing of Japan. She came to China in the late 40's and experienced the Communist Revolution. She and her husband, Sid, were heavily involved in helping China to develop their dairy farming. She's a wonderfully nice lady, and she's been very good to us. Thanks for all of your support!

Christmas Vacation

2009-01-23T22:55:00.001-08:00

This is our attempt at catch up, considering how poorly we (Ethan) have done at keeping up with the blog. We leave next Wednesday for Beijing!

Happenings

2009-01-20T20:30:00.000-08:00

We've got all visas and passports in order now. We got a deal on our flight--754 for the each of us, and about 60 for Chloe. We'll fly out of Vancouver, B.C., on the 29th at 12:30. The return date is the 29th of April. Woohoo! Ethan is very nervous that he won't be able to speak well enough, so he's been studying in his spare time. Katrina's been cooking, writing lots of thank you cards, and hanging out with the fam. It's been nice to have some down time before we take off.

The search for housing is still ongoing. Ethan has a friend in Beijing hunting for an apartment for us, and we've contacted the Church branch, who are also helping to look for housing. We'll be staying with Ethan's Mom's Aunt, Joan Hinton, for the first few nights that we're there. We'll be arriving during the holiday that attends the Chinese New Year, so hopefully we'll be able to see some cool stuff during the holiday.

We watched the President's inaugural address this morning, and we're both excited about a new administration, regardless of who we voted for. It should be interesting to hear the views of the Chinese people about the new administration.

Chloe's blessing

2009-01-01T13:13:00.000-08:00

On the 28th Chloe received her blessing. We're so grateful for the priesthood authority that provides these kinds of opportunities. Otherwise, we're busy getting ready for China--finding housing, getting visas, and so on. And we have ample time to relax. A lot of the house was sick over Christmas. We ended up celebrating Christmas on the 26th because Katrina was bed-ridden Christmas day. Everyone is feeling much better now.

Month birthday

2008-12-03T19:07:00.000-08:00

Chloe inaugurated her month birthday by rolling over! She was laying on her tummy, and she pushed herself up onto her arms and flopped over onto her back. Impressive! She almost did it again tonight, but her arm kept getting in the way.

Tummy time!

2008-12-02T15:22:00.000-08:00

This video is actually a little old, and Chloe is far more advanced than this now. Her headlifting powers have progressed to 30 seconds of pure head suspension. It's awesome! It's funny the things that get you excited when you become a parent. We're busy getting passports and visas ready, preparing to move, preparing to graduate, finishing up classes, selling our car, being new parents, and otherwise loving life.

choices

2008-11-28T23:09:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving went well for us. We soaked a turkey in brine overnight and it turned out really well. Chloe is doing just dandy. Her hair is looking more and more red. She's also filling out a bit, although she hasn't grown much taller (or longer depending on which way she's oriented). She enjoys scratching herself, escape artist pooping, and staring contests. We now know where we'll be after mid to late January. Ethan accepted the internship in Beijing with International Bridges to Justice. We both felt good about that opportunity. We'll be there for about three months. Int'l Bridges to Justice is a non-profit organization that helps developing countries to establish and improve their criminal justice systems. Check them out at www.ibj.org. It's a really neat opportunity for Ethan to improve his Chinese and get some really good legal experience. We're excited.

Per your request

2008-11-19T17:40:00.000-08:00

This slideshow includes Chloe's brown outfit. Life is wonderful here. Ethan is busy with school, and Katrina is busy with Chloe. We're very happy!

The Solo Trio

2008-11-17T08:23:00.000-08:00

Sadly, the grandmas have gone. It's just the three of us now. It's kind of nice to have just us here, but we deeply miss the help that we've had from Chloe's grandmas. Chloe is remarkably good, so it's not too strenuous. This video was filmed by Ethan's mom. For those of you on facebook, Ethan's put up an album of pictures that you can take a look at, too.

2008-11-15T18:04:00.001-08:00

Both moms visited this weekend, and it's been a huge help. Chloe is perfect as can be. She slept 8 hours straight last night! She is conforming to a schedule without a problem.

If the onesy fits, wear it

2008-11-12T21:49:00.000-08:00

Chloe found the first clothes that she can't swim laps in. She weighed in at the hospital the other day at 5 pounds 13.9 ounces, so we're happy about that. Ethan is back to his regular schedule of work and school, and Katrina is recovering well from the surgery. Last night we took a walk to the Hogi Yogi one block away, a commendable feat indeed. Katrina's mom Marilyn continues to be a huge blessing to us while she's here. Ethan's mom Martha also visits on the weekend and helps out. Our friends have been angelic. We're so grateful for everyone's help. Right now we're in limbo with some important decisions. Ethan is deciding on an internship. He has an opportunity in Beijing, China, which fits his interests well and would provide a really valuable experience, but it would mean that we would be separated for a few months. So, it's a tough choice. We'll keep you updated. Hope you enjoy the video!

Happy Birthday Chloe!

2008-11-10T21:21:00.000-08:00

It's been a big week for Chloe. Today she had a few landmarks: her first thorough bath, her first real clothes, and her first birthday!

Slideshow

2008-11-09T15:58:00.000-08:00

Chloe's bilirubin levels are low enough that she can get off the blanket. Yay!

The Angel

2008-11-08T11:17:00.000-08:00

Chloe visited the pediatrician today. Her bilirubin level is high enough that she's still on the biliblanket. The pediatrician also got back some chromosome testing for her, and he told us that she has down syndrome. The doctor had already told us that he thought she had it, so we weren't surprised by the news. When we told Tamara, Katrina's sister, she said, "so you have an angel." That's exactly how we feel. We are hopeful that her case is mild, because she lacks a lot of the common characteristics of down syndrome kids, but we love her so much no matter what. Our sole concern is the health issues that might accompany her condition. We're just so happy to have her, excited to be her parents, and honored that Heavenly Father trusts us with this little one.

bureaucracies and biliblankets

2008-11-06T22:59:00.000-08:00

It was incredible how long it took us to get home. Chloe kept needing to nurse whenever we managed to get close to mobilizing. Also, there was a standard amount of red tape to get through at the hospital. We got home about 9:45. We were a bit paranoid because she was off of her biliblanket for a long time while we got ready. It feels so good to be home. Here's her all decked out for the arrival.

What's in a name?

2008-11-06T22:42:00.000-08:00

Name selection came down to the wire, when we finally had to decide about 8:30PM tonight before the nurses would let us leave. We narrowed the contenders to iola and Chloe. Most family members and friends really liked Chloe, and we took a long look at her and decided that it was the best fit. Her full name is Chloe Hazel Blevins. Hazel is the name of both of my grandmas, both of which have passed away (my mom's mom died several months ago), and the name of one of Marilyn's aunt.

Bilirubin Blues

2008-11-06T22:30:00.000-08:00

I learned a new word today. I had no idea what the nurses were talking about when they warned us of the dangers of some guy named Billy Reuben. They put her in an eery glowing crib, and then they gave us a biliblanket that glows green and she has to stay on full time.

Wrinkly feet and bubbles

2008-11-05T20:46:00.000-08:00

The third day baby has come to live in our room! There's some minor concern remaining about the amount of oxygen she's getting, and the lab is coming to check her for jaundice. So, we should be going home from the hospital tomorrow, and we hope she can come with us. She has really wrinkly skin, especially her feet, because she lost a little weight in the womb. We still haven't decided on a name. I went to class and work today. The hospital gave us a really nice steak and shrimp dinner with some bubbly cider. Katrina gave me her shrimp.

The Patriot

2008-11-04T23:54:00.000-08:00

After another intense day, Katrina is zonked, so I will continue to narrate the epic tale of an as of yet unnamed baby (referred to as "the Patriot" through the remainder of this post). Possible names for the Patriot are: Daphne, Sable, Iola, or Chloe. Let us know your thoughts... the Patriot is still in the special care unit. We've been in to nurse and visit a few times. We hope that tomorrow they can bring the Patriot in to nurse in our room, but she's sure to be a resident of special care through tomorrow night at the least. We're hoping to leave the hospital Thursday, and the nurse is hopeful that we can take the Patriot home.
Today was a hard day, being separated from the baby and a little unsure of her future. But we're so happy to have her, and she's beautiful and happy. I snuck out to vote about 7:30 tonight, which explains the sticker on her forehead.

First Arrival

2008-11-03T17:39:00.000-08:00

After some really intense experiences, we have a healthy baby and a healthy mom. Early Sunday morning Katrina woke up with a lot of bleeding. We took her to the hospital, they monitored the baby for a while, and then they sent us home. That evening she had several big gushes of blood, so we took her to the hospital again, and they decided to induce labor. However, by morning she still hadn't progressed far in labor, and she had another heavy episode of bleeding. So they rushed her in to perform an emergency c-section. I got to go in and see them yank the baby out with a funny plunger kind of thing. Then they whisked her away and I got to go see her while Katrina got taken to recovery. The baby at birth weighed 5 lbs 12 oz. The doctors say that a placental abruption was the likely cause of the bleeding. They said the baby probably would've weighed about 7 pounds, but the placenta was failing to supply sufficient nutrients to the baby, so she was a bit skinnier. However, there are no serious long-term problems that it'll cause. Right now the baby is doing well, and Katrina is resting.

2008-10-28T12:20:00.001-07:00

In the Beginning...

2008-10-08T14:26:00.000-07:00

We are officially starting a family blog, and hope to make it exciting! Our first bit of news, and the latest in the Blevins' family is that Ethan just took the LSAT last Saturday, and we're anxiously waiting for the results!