Wow...!

Soren's newest ability is being honed to a fine science. (Which will, we are certain, translate into a career in science). He can now locate any light switch in the house from a distance of fifteen feet or more. Leading the way with outstretched hand, he can flip the switch from On to Off with 25% accuracy at least.

This video was taken about a week ago. At this point, he can rapidly flip each switch, and his wowing is a bit more hushed and reverent.

Pachabel, You GENIUS!

Observe, if you will, a young man already pining for his wedding day.
Talk about social conditioning!! Can't a young boy just be a boy and not have to dream about his wedding day?
So much pressure...

Short Summer in the Park

Well, the summer is coming to a close; or it's over, depending on who you ask.

I'm the type who is champing at the bit to get to Fall, but this year feels different. We've had the coldest summer here on record, and our Winter is threatening to be long and cold. I'm already prepared to get really sad and worn out.

So maybe it's best to bid sayoonara to the summer with some of my favorite pictures from a great playdate with my little baby.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Wedding in Kentucky

Well, we did it.

Apologies for our lapse in communication, but we've been a bit preoccupied. I have been told that our wedding was actually easy compared to most. However, it was still quite an ordeal to execute: handmade invitations, marriage counseling, couple counseling, flowers, dress shopping, coordinating "catering" from the Church body, entertaining family and friends, caring for a one-year old baby, finishing up classes and one degree, planning around 5 job schedules, and the usual wedding details... it looks like a lot on paper, but when all is said and done, it really didn't feel as if that much happened.

As far as I'm concerned, we really couldn't have asked for a better experience. We had just what we wanted: a "shared elopement in a church." We had a massive thunderstorm beforehand, and I'll be darned (as my Grandpa would say) if we didn't even get a prolonged rumble of thunder during our wedding kiss. We want to thank friends and family for flying out, for supporting us from afar, for keeping our family in your prayers, thoughts, ideas, vibes, choose-your-own-adventures, or whatever it is that people do these days. We feel loved, and are grateful for it.

We have literally thousands of pictures to weed through. We've gone through our 800 official wedding ones, and here are some of my favorites (that i sent to the Fairfield family). We will try to post more, or just put them up on a photo sharing site.

Love you all!
The Fairfields

All Mavericks Grow Old

Before we begin our first post in 6 weeks, we'd like to say goodbye to a lovely outfit that Soren has now outgrown: The Maverick Suit. The first pictures are of Soren on Halloween of 2008; the second were taken last night. We had to stuff him with extra shirts to make it fit six months ago-- now, he's like Fred Astaire in his slim-fitting dancing outfit!


Onward ho!

Wow, our first post in 6 weeks! What happens in a six week period of time? Well, good question, faithful reader. Let us fill you in.

~ Lisa finished her course work for her Doctorate in Musical Arts (DMA) in Piano Performance (with a Minor in Pedagogy) and is nearly done! She has to ONLY perform one recital, take 2 written tests, one oral test, and write a 100 page document! Easy as pie!

(How excited is Lisa to be done with classes? Well, let's put it this way:
Q: Of nearly 29 years of Lisa's life, how many have not been spent in school?
A: Seven. Or, about 23% of her life has been spent outside of school.)

~ Leif received his MFA in Printmaking and Drawing! Though it qualifies him for a good slap on the back, it may actually make him LESS employable to some jobs. However, it qualifies him to teach at a university level, which is exactly what he'll be doing in the Fall! Freshman, beware!

~ Soren is pushing on his new Wheelie Bug and balancing with one hand! He is a stone's throw away from walking.

~ Lisa is playing a concert with two wonderful flutists in July. Besides accompaniment, she'll be performing solo for the first time in a year! Last recital, she had a big bun in the oven!

~ Leif managed to put an obsolete trade to use by designing and printing their wedding invitations on a neglected Vandercook press in a neighbor's garage, using handset metal type and hand carved woodblocks!

~ Soren is loving life-- first swimming trip, first Kentucky BBQ, is hard at work at grabbing things off of tabletops (look out!), is mastering his piano skills (he can reach the keys with one hand now, and has mastered the minor second interval), is developing a lovely singing voice (he might be a crooner), and is almost sometimes sleeping through the night! Almost.

It's certainly been a little bit hectic, and we're glad for the change of pace... a nice and almost leisurely summer. The garden is growing, the weather is mild (for Cincinnati), and the Summer days are long and lovely. If we can find a way to transplant an ocean and a small mountain range, we'll be very happy.

Love to all,
Leif and Lisa (and Soren)

Happy First Birthday, Sweet Soren!

On the afternoon of May 16, two days before Soren's first birthday, we had a big party for him at our place. About 20 of his favorite people came to celebrate with us. Soren was a bundle of energy, wooing the attendees with his bright smile, insatiable appetite, and soulful dancing. Here are a few of the many highlights of the day:

little blonde sweetie.

a monkey cake for a monkey boy

he was a little unsure what to do with such a big piece of food at first...

but, being a smart one, soon figured out that sugar = joy

mmm, banana cake and chocolate buttercream...

looking a little unwell... I didn't imagine he'd eat that whole piece so quickly!

Soren received lots of fun presents!

but, there's still something so intriguing about the crinkly paper that comes with them.

resting after a fun, busy day (and no afternoon nap, yikes!)

well-rested and ready to go sunday morning. notice all seven teeth!

happy, dancing bear.

The Culinary Delights of an 11-Month old Palate

"Mommy, what do babies eat?"

Soren has become quite the avid connoisseur of "real people" food. 'Twas not always so.... after spending 6 weeks in a NICU with nurses sticking tubes up noses and down throats, one can understandably be less enthusiastic than the average kid at having a person of the parent variety sticking rubber-coated spoons of goo in and around one's mouth.

The first feeding attempts in January (applesauce) were met with puckered lips and an intriguing expression that somehow melded looks of surprise, curiosity, and mild annoyance. Being, perhaps, over-enthusiastic about this new milestone I went a little crazy making up batches of all sorts of fresh organic purees; sweet potato, peas, black beans, carrots, squash, pears, you name it. Soren would, on a good day, take a timid bite (I assume to humor me), then refuse to eat any more. (By the way, if anyone is in the market for a few freezer bags full of perfectly proportioned, 1/2-oz servings of mashed veggies, please let me know...)







BUT! To Soren's amazement (and to ours!) he began mastering the whole opposable thumb trick, making it possible to take a Cheerio, previously considered best-suited for flinging off table tops in one dramatic sweep of the arm, and put it in his mouth with at least 30% accuracy. Since that day his coordination has vastly improved, and he is more than eager to try any and every type of food, so long as he can feed himself.






While the standard fare of bananas, avocados, and yogurt rank high on the favorite foods list, Soren seems to have a taste for strong foods. Hummus, the most garlicky and spicy varieties included, is a huge hit. I once gave him the smallest taste of a really spicy pasta I made, and he just about went nuts grabbing at my hand, the bowl, the fork, anything to get another bite. Though he's had just 2 or 3 tastes of sweets, he clearly takes after his mama's love for them. I gave him his first (very small!) taste of ice cream at the zoo, and he actually had a mini-toddler meltdown when I wouldn't let him eat it all himself.


But, I suppose I shouldn't be too quick to brag about his refined palate. I should admit that it wasn't long ago I was chopping vegetables for dinner, when I saw him diligently licking the kitchen floor. When he, laughing hysterically, finally let me get my finger in his mouth, I found a wad of chopped raw broccoli tucked away in his cheek, like a chipmunk. And I suppose I should mention that within a week of that I caught him savoring a piece of dried cat food like a delicious hard candy. We haven't had cats since August. I can't imagine where he found it.



Plucky old Soren is making a wonderful new discovery: The Water Bottle. This might not sound very astounding to the Dasini Generation (From Coca Cola, with love-- bottled tap water!), but think back into your murky past and you, too, might discover a dark time when your muscles could not sufficiently coordinate to swallow the delicious cool beverage.

However, those days are nearly behind our sweetie. When I hold his water bottle up to his mouth, he makes a cautious advance with an open mouth, and his eyes dart from left to right. As he takes a drink, more or less letting his mouth passively fill up with water, he bursts into laughter, spurting water all over his (and my) shirt. He swallows some, but he seems as surprised as he is delighted.

What I wouldn't give to get that much pleasure from drinking Cincinnati's tap water.





Who knew that having a 22 pound person sitting at the dinner table with could add such an exciting, humorous dimension to the every-day task of eating? What a funny life. What a great kid.