Life in the South, the legend of T-Bone

Well, lets just say James is adjusting nicely to the South. His knees are scraped, he has a partial farmer tan, he is covered in mosquito bites and has bruised shins. You would think he was the bubble boy in the Netherlands, based on how pristine and unscathed he was before this visit. He has been talking up a storm... just repeating everything. About once a day we have an interaction where it takes me FOREVER to figure out what he is saying. He patiently repeats over and over again until it gets through my thick skull. Most times it is something I have just said to him-- like this morning when he was saying "recycle-- street" and I thought it was "motorcycle-- treat". Fortunately, we work it out eventually. James now says his own name, well in a way. He calls himself Mames, though he can't beat my cousin David and his wife Katherine's daughter Elizabeth, who has refered to herself as "Zeeps" for years now.

We spent this morning having a grandkids photo shoot out at the family farm. It was HOT, and, well ...James is two-- the other kids (3 Steedleys and 1 Campa) did beautifully. The bulk of the shots will (I think) be of three clean and adorable smiling Steedleys, holding one tiny baby Campa, while James runs squealing around the group. He would just not sit still. I was not about to force it, and the photographer (who specializes in kids) has seen worse I am sure. Let's hope. She has a very Dutch name, Vondersmith-- so we knew we were in good hands. Man is she patient-- incredibly calm, cheerful and absolutely excellent with kids. I have been in the presence of a photographer that thought she was good with kids but was kind of scary. It was a friend's wedding photographer's assistant I think, and she kept saying "I'm gonna tickle you" to the children of the wedding party throughout the day. It was freaking us all out! Anyway-- I will link to photos of the shoot when the time comes, she said it should be ready in a few weeks. In general I will be thrilled with one of them all in the same frame, for posterity's sake.

My parents' neighborhood has undergone some changes in the past few years. The houses on either side of theirs have been sold to families who buy the houses as an investment, but use them to lodge their college age students while at VSU. It is a little surreal that our lifelong next door neighbor is no longer there. Her presence in childhood was always a backdrop for our life. She was a piano teacher, avid birdwatcher, gardener, and Asian cooking expert. Now there are three trucks in the driveway next door who belong to three dudes I have never seen or heard. I saw one had dropped some litter from their truck on the driveway last week and I literally stopped in mid-walk. I was in shock. This lady would NEVER leave trash in the driveway. They probably keep a schedule in direct opposition to ours. We wake up anywhere from 5:00 (my dad) to 6:30, and are in bed between 9 and 10:00. I imagine they don't get rolling until then. I asked my parents if they had any trouble with parties, noise, etc. My parents' bedroom is unfortunately on the first floor on that side of the house. My mom said they had weekly parties on thursday nights last year, and they could hear them occasionally rabble rouse or have arguments with girlfriends in the driveway in those days. However, things have gotten better. As my mother put it, "you know, you hear things over time--- one of the fellas living there last year was named T-Bone, and he apparently was a bit of a troublemaker". T-Bone has moved on. Things have quieted since. Thank goodness. I never thought I would be speaking with my mom about her troublemaking neighbor T-Bone, that is for sure.

My mom invited a few friends over to meet James at the end of last week. It was delightful to see so many family friends and try to catch up with them in a short amount of time (an impossible task). Since then several more people who couldn't make the party have dropped by and it has been wonderful. Just so nice to visit and to have them meet James. My daily naps have gone by the wayside, and I will have to catch up on rest in Enschede.

The word from Mike is that things are busy, but still really exciting, informative and fun. This week's course is on converting trees to timber, and involves many regional road trips to small sawmills, wood lots, and forests. They have been identifying trees and learning about forest management as well as some forestry rules and regulations in the state of Massachusetts. Early in the week he said this course involved less hard labor and more short trips in the car. Next week they drive 12 hours to Ohio to help the Timber Framer's Guild restore the Hertzler barn.

That should be amazing. I wish I was going to the old fashioned barn raising-- like Mike's sister Mary Liotta that makes me think of 7 Brides for 7 Brothers, and I would love to see Mike and the guys build a barn while also astounding us with their acrobatic dance routine. My favorite brother was always the sweet, sensitive youngest brother Gideon (played by Russ Tamblyn).

I think Mike's time online will continue to be limited, but I can assure you all I will try to hold of the birth of his second child until he can get home and post several blogs about his summer. I know he is burning to share his photos and stories with us all.

Soon we will be heading back to Atlanta, this time to Roswell to visit the Maier grandparents. We are going to have a great time.

Until then, here are some photos of everyone's favorite little guy.

Here James gives his pretend horse (one of the great toys in Bammy and Peppy's grandparent stash) a drink

The table before the party at mom's house. Yes, we moved the chairs before guests arrived, but they were there for the photo-- sorry.

James decimating a petit four after the party. He is hooked, and all we ask is that you never say the words "cake" or "cupcake" in front of him.

In the bath, above, and working on his potty training below. He actually only wants to do this, and nothing productive, if you get my drift. I am trying to keep it lighthearted and stress free for now.