A piece of family history

This christening gown is over 105 years old.

It was worn by my great grandfather, my grandfather, me, my sister, my son, my sister's two children, and I think a couple aunts and uncles and maybe a few cousins.

(Speaking of, does anyone have a list of the people who've worn it?)

It's been well-preserved, but it's getting fragile. I figure it has one, maybe two, baptisms left in it before it starts to disintegrate.

I took the opportunity to snap these pictures before my nephew's christening this past weekend. I meant to take some before Micah wore it, but I forgot until the gown was already wrinkled and drooled on.

There's just something about heirlooms like these that fascinates me - things that, even a century later, are still being used for their original purpose. It's not often you get to see such a tangible piece of so many family members' past.

All kinds of things

I spent the last week at a facility overseeing the RCRA closure of some old wastewater tanks. It being August in Northern Alabama, it was FLESH-MELTING HOT, so we were starting at 6 AM. The job we thought would only take two days ended up taking four and a half, but it's finally done. And I'm pooped.

Last Wednesday, Micah officially transitioned up the toddler level at his daycare. This means taking a nap on a cot instead of in his crib, a set schedule that includes time on the playground and in the gym, and (Micah's favorite part) TWO snack times per day. They play with playdough, finger paint, sing songs, and learn sign language. He's required to have shoes for wearing outside and sippy cups instead of bottles. He's exhausted every day when he gets home, is eating everything in sight, and is having a BLAST.

I was pretty apprehensive about him moving up, but I think it's been awesome for him. It's a little difficult for me - no more going over to nurse at lunch, because that's right smack in the middle of nap time - but being so busy all week helped distract me. The few times I've stopped by, he's been so involved in playing, he didn't even notice I was there until I sat down in front of him. He's rapidly leaving the baby phase behind, but I'm happy to see him having so much fun.

Last Thursday, after several weeks of weighing alternatives, looking at houses, and generally freaking out a bit (at least on my part), we signed a contract to have a house built. You can see the proposed floorplan here. Assuming everything goes as planned, we'll be moving in March. And that means we'll need to put this house on the market sooner rather than later. Now if you need me, I'll be hyperventilating into this paper bag.

Update: Whoops, wrong floorplan link. It's fixed now.

To keep the family happy

My nephew Alex turned one month old last Friday. Time has flown! To celebrate, I took an ungodly number of pictures.

Being a newborn, most of the pictures of Alex look pretty much the same, but I've put a few of my favorites from the weekend up on Flickr. You can see them full-screen here.

Hopefully this will appease the family until they can see him in person later this month.