The great state count

So here we are in New Mexico. Twenty-one hours of driving, crammed into two days, is worth it for for a month or so of relaxation with family here. I had to call my dad, once we passed the "Welcome to New Mexico" sign, to let him know that Kate has hit her fourth state already. Yes, the Gibler family keeps track of how many states each member has visited. Brian has the most states in my family, and I am tied for third place. Guess all our road trips have to pay off somehow!

The Great State Count:

Brian 38

Lisa 32

Jack 10

Kate 4

Dear Kate

So, here you are, half a month old already, and your due date is still on my upcoming calendar. I actually started writing this letter a few weeks ago, when I thought I had plenty of time before you were born. I started writing it after feeling a twinge of guilt. I remembered how, during my pregnancy with Jack, I'd written a series of diary entries, detailing my daily routine, how I was feeling and all those wonderful body changes. I realized I'd already become what I said I wouldn't: one of THOSE moms. The ones who openly admit that they don't spend as much time fawning over their second child as their first. The moms who forget to take pictures, who let scrapbooks fall by the wayside...
But then I realized that I HAVE been chronicling much the same way this time around, via my blog. I've faithfully recorded, every few days to a week, what's been going on in my life, and I've not failed to mention how utterly excited we are to have you join our family. After that realization, I let go of the guilt.
You have, since your birth, been largely ignored in my writings. Mostly because you sleep all the time. You wake up to eat and poop, and then fall blissfully back into shuteye. I don't remember Jack ever sleeping this much!
You are soooo darn sweet. You hardly ever cry and are quite beautiful--everyone says so. You look so much like Jack that sometimes I think you are him. You are nursing well but have trouble keeping up with me when I'm full. Sometimes it seems like you just want to open your mouth and have the milk flow in. I keep telling you it doesn't work that way! You are not giving me nearly the same trouble during the middle of the night that Jack gave me. My mom says I am much more relaxed this time around, and that you can sense that. She says you're a lot like me as a baby, and that makes me happy.
I am quite excited to usher you through your childhood. Will you be a ballerina? An artist? A soccer player? Will you be feisty and stubborn like your brother, or will you be the more laidback second child? Will you be a big sister or the baby of the family? I can't WAIT to see what life holds for you, Kate!
Love,
Mommy

Bakersfield comes to town

Monday morning, and the house is eerily quiet. Not only was my mom here for almost two weeks, but we also hosted relatives from Bakersfield over the weekend: Aunt Stefani, my cousin Sarah and her husband Brad, and their two kids, Perrin and Mary. The Swanlund family camped out in a tent in our backyard. We, of course, had to take them to see the tufa towers.

Mary wanted to hold Kate the ENTIRE time she was here.

Everyone left this morning. Our lives here in Mono City are (almost) back to normal, except it's a new normal, with Kate thrown into the mix. So far, she still sleeps a whole bunch! Brian works four more days, and then we're off to New Mexico for a month or so.

Tufa tour

We took my mom today to see the south rim of Mono Lake, where the "tufa towers" are most prominent. Actually, us locals had never been to the south end before, so it was a new sight for us as well. Tufas, by the way, are limestone deposits in the very salty Mono Lake, formed underwater with the help of calcium deposits from the freshwater that flows into the lake. Tufa is so visible in Mono Lake because lake levels fell after water diversions began in 1941. The lake itself is filled with brine shrimp and is a haven for kayakers and other boaters, although not really for swimmers. (For more--or more accurate--info, see the Mono Lake Committee's website at http://www.monolake.org/about/geotufa.) The tufa towers are quite beautiful! After a short walk on the trails, Jack settled himself on the sand for a little playtime with his new truck.

Berry-licious

Saturday adventures

It is so fun to come to the end of a school year, to reflect back, to see how you've grown and what's changed, and to marvel on how it seems like just yesterday that the students entered the door on the first day of school. Brian is about to finish up his first year as assistant principal. Yesterday, five of his Lee Vining students graduated from high school. Yes, FIVE! Here they are, four boys and one girl:

Much of the community turned out to celebrate. Afterward, my mom and I took the kiddos to the first-ever "Kidapalooza" in Mammoth Lakes. There were many cool booths and events: a petting zoo, a man making balloon animals, a hula-hoop contest, a fire truck. Jack sat briefly for a photo op...

...but the only thing he was really interested in was a collection of dump trucks sitting at the sandy playground. That's my boy!

More fun with Grandma

This morning, we drove up the road to show Lundy Lake to Grandma. Brrrr! It was a little cold. But still beautiful. Jack enjoyed trouncing up and down the little dock. Kate slept.

Grandma in the house

My mom arrived yesterday from Idaho. She'll be here for almost two weeks, to help ease my transition into mom-of-one into crazyhood. We showed her around "town" this morning... not that there's much to see! Mono City is basically two streets and about fifty houses. But the birds were out in multitudes, the sky was a startling blue and the mountains were green, some still with puffs of snow on top. This HAS to be the most gorgeous time of year here. Jack enjoyed a piggyback ride:

And constant peekaboos into Baby Kate's "ride":


Kate was all plum-tuckered-out afterward:

Heeeeeeere's Kate!

Katharine Mae Marshall
Born: Sunday, June 7, 2009 at 1:44 p.m.
7 pounds, 5 ounces
19.5 inches long
http://mammothhospital.com/nursery/nursery.php

The potty "train"

This morning, hopefully, marks the beginning of a successfully potty-trained little man. I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing! It's like I'm adventuring into unchartered territory here... but every mom has to do it, right? I've read a lot of advice; here's a checklist for our patched-together method.

-Potty, big-boy underwear, and Pull-Ups for naps and nighttime? Check.
-Cheez-Its, Teddy Grahams, animal cookies, and Nemo snacks (to make him thirsty, of course)? Check.
-Chocolate milk? Check.
-Kitchen timer set at 20 minutes, for dry checks? Check.
-Lots of fun shows on the DVR? Check.
-A train engine to hang on his bedroom wall, with cars to color and hang in succession each time he stays dry? Check.
-Lots of dollar-store treats for when he might actually go in his potty? Check.
Update later!

Seven years

Today, our seventh anniversary, we're celebrating with an early dinner in Lee Vining. Memory lane time! I thought I'd share a few of my favorite pictures of us throughout the years.

This photo's from when I was still living in Las Cruces, in the summer of 2001. Brian's dad and family friend Raymond gathered up all their antique tractors for a ride down the road to the restaurant Guacamole's. Here we are, with the Organ Mountains in the background:

My favorite of our wedding pics, taken just as the sky began to sprinkle (I always knew it would rain on my wedding day, but it wasn't actually a bad thing):

Christmas 2005, when Casey was still just a puppy, and thoughts of HUMAN children were beginning to develop in our heads:

Halloween 2006, when I was almost nine months pregnant with Jack. Brian was a tourist (his hard hat's from the Hoover Dam tour), and I'm an oven, with a "bun" inside:

At Brian's 2007 graduation from CSU Sacramento, with his Master's in Educational Leadership: