8 Years!

Yesterday we celebrated our 8th anniversary!  I was at work of course but I was trying to decide what my wife would like most of all for an anniversary gift and I decided what she would probably want was time, so I arranged for my parents to pick up the two older kids and take them away for the morning, where they had a grand time playing with cousins (thanks again, Mom and Dad and Auntie Elise and cousins!), and then I came home a little early from work with flowers and so-so sushi from Walmart so that I could take over when they woke up from their naps so she had the rest of the afternoon free too, and then surprised her with this:

Still working on likenesses, but you get the idea.

Then we hired a really fun babysitter and took to La Jolla Groves for a delicious dinner with a little plus-one:

Such an adorable tagalong, and he didn't make a peep.

Then we went home and I sabotaged my own food dehydrator gift secret and then we shared some amazing cupcakes from the shop downtown and watched Psych until we couldn't make it through two episodes and crashed after a long and fun day.

The kids told us this morning that they want to get married (not to each other), and if that's not a ringing endorsement of how we're doing, I don't know what is!  It's wonderful to have a partner who's clever and lovely and takes care of so many things and makes me laugh.  All the love to my Juliet (as in O'Hara, not Capulet).

The real deal.  Smoldering back when it used to be called (yikes) smizing.

Lucky 7

Quick, before it's more than a full calendar month late!

We had our anniversary and even actually celebrated it!

On the Saturday before we dropped off the kids at Mom and Dad's house and went to do sealings:

Kissy kissy

 And then we went to lunch at the beloved Asian Buffet:

walnut shrimp *DIES*

 And then on the day of I surprised The Wife with this little number:

Like I do

Detail because sexy shoe in sexy toe point

And then we went to a work party celebrating our anniversary the new office:

He hasn't stopped talking about working at Daddy's desk ever since

And all in all we had a nice evening of free and delicious barbecue and then put the poopsies to bed and probably fell asleep on the couch because they do wear us out. XD

I do so love that wife of mine.

Lucky me.

A Decade of Hmoob

Ten years ago...

... I entered this place (and didn't leave for almost three months) and met this guy (and became BFFs) and took a good long look at the Hmong language and thought, well, I'll never be able to understand any of this. Xav tsis thoob.

Saying goodbye to hearth and home.

L-R: Wiest, Lo, Cox, Vang, S. Wilson, kuv, A. Wilson, Johns

Tsob ntoo Hmoob, our beloved Hmong Tree

Hmoob hwjchim.  Sure, it's not the most Hmong pose, but what did I know?

The first of many Elder Potter photo shoots (with a sad sorry makeshift wand).

Sometimes you get kind of kooky after all those weeks inside a fence and need to do something rebellious... like pose for a picture in this security golf cart.

There comes a time when you feel like you just need to make a break for it.

Best surprise possible when my parents and sister showed up after being invited to a devotional!  Just the thing to give me that boost before heading out to the field.

I thought I knew a lot (and sure, why not, I did), but I definitely had a lot to learn, and even though I was in my mid-20s and a good half-decade-plus older than most of the other missionaries around me, I still had a lot of growing up to do, and a lot of good friends and great experiences on the way.

Finally WI bound.  I tell you, the bus ride to the airport and the flight were like going to Disneyland.

SO much has happened in the last decade it's crazy to look back and think about it all.  But then I also remember that at this time I had already interacted with my beloved, and then she took it upon herself to continue to write to me via the old school method once I entered the MTC, and I'm ever so glad she did.  (And I confess it was nice to finally see a picture of her.)

A lot of things have changed, but some things never will.  Faith, family, friends, Hmoob, and that rad picture of me in a golf cart...  It was a long stay in a small area, but it led to a whole lot of good.

Five Years / Fifteen Months

So, as promised, here's my follow-up post about the happenings around about a month ago (I still want to do a post more about our house-buying shenanigans, but I won't bother with that just yet).

As it turned out, our anniversary fell squarely on moving weekend (or the weekend after, which is basically the same thing), so we didn't get a chance to go out of town or to a fancy dinner or really anything too special, except of course, you know, buying and moving into a house and everything.  There were still flowers and reminiscing about the blessed day five years ago, as well as anniversaries since then, but there was also a trip to Home Depot and a little frustration at trying to get this or that fixed or functioning.  It was enough to be together and have a nice place to live and be, and then we can celebrate more fully and appropriately sometime down the road.

After that we reached another little milestone in The Boy's lifetime, and at 15 months he's doing great.  His personality is definitely starting to show a little more prominently, and he's starting to assert himself (which is fun but also a bit bewildering at times).  He loves to make a mess at mealtime and is starting to be a little more selective with his preferred foods.  His favorite foods are bananas and Graham Crackers, both of which he will eat at pretty much any time and in almost no time.  He still sleeps like a champ, with the occasional (brief) episode at night or the occasional short nap (the new church schedule we just switched to might do a real number on the nap/lunch setup on Sundays, so we'll have to see how that goes...).  He loves to put things in and out of other things, and he can play with his set of IKEA stacking cups for ages.  He plays with any and every toy he can find, even if it's not a toy, and each night it's amusing to go around and pick up all the debris the li'l tornado has left in his wake throughout the day, just because you never know what you'll find or where.  He is very vocal, and says a handful of words, but definitely does plenty of animal sounds.  He sometimes growls for a good long while, no matter what animal he sees in a book or what animal sound we ask him to say.  He's very good and usually silent in the car.  He just stares out the window with a somewhat bemused expression on his face and watches the world go by (unless of course we're on a two-minute drive home from church, when he might probably fall asleep, and unless of course we're on a late-night roadtrip drive home, when he might fall asleep for a little while and then never fall back asleep again, much to his dismay... and the dismay of everyone else in the car).  But really, 98% of the time he is just an absolute delight, and his funny faces and tub splashes and squirmy diaper changes and elated wanderings around the house are a joy to his parents and all who meet him.  It's the best thing when your little one runs across the room just to be close to you or jumps into your arms with a huge, 7-toothy smile on his face.

Now it's time for an Instagram photo onslaught!

Make it blue!

You can be a champion too if you eat Kanine Krunchies!

The Boy who would be king.

Bath time with Daddy!

So many animals in this one!

Just a little pounce.

Bobo, Robin, Robin, Bobo.

He loved the splash pads this summer!  It took a little bit and he still mostly likes to skirt around the edges and flirt with the little spouts, but he still finds the whole thing pretty delightful.

The wonderful thing about Bobos is he's the only one!

Blurrily getting into things with cousin Nora.

Matching bedhead!

I really didn't mean to give him a scar on his forehead (L), but Elise definitely did (R).

Bleurgh, mushy stuff.  He'll change his tune one day.

Pop Rocks in my shave ice?!?  Oh my yes.  I love how Little Mister caught me taking the picture.

We finally made it to see the balloons!  (Okay, we missed the launch, but at least we saw some this year.)

The best of friends.

Time for a little visit to Prydain.

He's doing a little detective work of his own, I guess.

Just a family of cows at Chick-fil-A.  That tail!!!

Checking out the new Bean Museum (mixed feelings...) but he sure loved all the lions,  of which there was an abundance.

His first Disney crush?!?  He kept toting it around and giving her little kisses.

He just mostly likes to get around during these movie happenings, truth be told.

That's it, enough people have called him "her"...  time for a little trim.  Still so handsome.

Saying hello to Nana and aunties on the neighbors' U-Haul truck.

Pay no attention to the Christmas presents on the cart, young man.  We love a good consignment sale.

The one that started it all for me as a lad.  His first viewing didn't have quite the same effect as mine did.  Ah well.

Happy year-and-a-quarter, son!  You are a beloved child of ours indeed.

The Last Five Years

(Not to be confused with the musical of the same name, which I love, but which I haven't actually listened to in its entirety for the last five years, because after I was married it suddenly became too sad.)

Five years ago yesterday I went from being a bachelor (read: lonely) to being a husband (read: blissfully happy).  Five years is a pretty big milestone, and we have always and often talked about the big plans of funtivities we would do and places we would travel when we reached it, but when the time finally came, we found we had our hands pretty full with this:

So those plans will have to wait a little while.  But, northeastern coast or southwestern coast or right here in the mountains, we're still joyously and quietly celebrating five glorious years of marriage, and just over a year of having added a third most splendid member to our party.  Marriage has been a lot of things so far, some of which I expected, and some of which I never could have anticipated, but all of it, up, down and in between, has been just exactly what I want and need.  This girl of mine is special and she really does make me want to be better in every way.

Ah, so young.  She's just as lovely though (lovelier!).

I'll post again later with more details about the house (that we have purchased -- OoO -- and what a story it is!) and our actual day-of celebration, however minimal and/or subdued it was (what am I saying, we had our first flood!), but for now...

... happy fifth anniversary, Wife!!!  I promise I'll take you to Maine one day, but in the meantime let's just keep emptying boxes and filling closets and stocking shelves and spending money to make this house our home.

11 Months

This boy has joined me at palindrome level, just one month shy of a year.  The Wife posted a great update here, but here's a quick little post here too.

Our little man is doing great.  He's smiley and mischievous and learning what to do and what not to do, and when to do or not do it.  He's liking a lot of good foods and loves getting around.  He makes funny noises and blows raspberries and says random word-like things.  His flaky scalp is thankfully and blessedly a thing of the past, but now we're working on a perpetually chapped chin (which evidently itches in the night...).  He loves his mommy especially, but he's always glad to see me when I come down from work.

Making our way through the Disney animated canon!  This is from Saludos Amigos.

The Three Caballeros!  This is a perfect time for no pants.

Hey, the boy has to be indoctrinated at some point or other, doesn't he?  Time for a jaunty hat to fit in with Johnnie Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet (in Make Mine Music).

Bobo really is a good baby, and although he has his moments, we're looking forward to his first birthday with great anticipation.  He's more active and curious than ever, and he's been great for babysitters and with visits to family and especially his little-like-him cousins.

We found a fun park nearby with swings, and he wasn't sure about the whole idea...

And then suddenly he was sure.  (See?  He's occasionally unhappy.  We have to document it sometime or other.)

We love you, son!!!  You are a delight to behold for all among your acquaintance (and even, I'm sure, those outside of it).