the village

i know it's a cliche... a vociferously overused one at that... but parenting really does take a village.

a few weeks ago we had a visit with our amazing midwives and one of them remarked on how lucky little adeline is. she said, "in her whole life, the only hands that have touched her have been those of people who love her." not very many people can say that. and it is certainly true for adeline. what a wonder!

every single day i look at this impossibly beautiful child and i think to myself, "there's a whole world, right there, contained in that little body." when she smiles and coos at the ceiling fan or the starkly patterned table cloth or the faces of her parents, my heart breaks a little -- in the best possible way. when she makes that pitiful little face before letting out an ear-splitting wail, i can't help but laugh a little. her biggest tragedy right now is a wet diaper.

i know we can't keep it that way. i know we can't protect her from bumps and bruises and disappointment and heartache forever. and it's not that i really want a problem-free, pain-free existence for her. but if i'm being honest, i'd have to say that this time of shelter and protection and meeting her needs as perfectly as we can is really lovely. and the fact that it is so fleeting makes it all the lovelier.

but we really couldn't do it, this parenting thing, properly if we didn't have such a fantastic support system. our family, our friends, our small group, even our co-workers... they make this life path we've chosen... well... possible. because sleepless nights and diaper rash and gassy babies and crying jags (for both baby and mommy) and that all-consuming feeling of immediacy... it just gets overwhelming at times. and in those times, there's our village. a group of amazing, loving people whose hands we can trust with our little treasure.

and isn't that what life is all about? finding people and sharing life with them? and carrying one another’s hopes and sorrows and having faith when they can't find it for themselves? and bringing meals and changing diapers and taking beautiful pictures and generally helping to celebrate new life together?

yes. that’s what it’s all about.

anyhow, enough of my esoteric musings. here are some pictures to keep you company.

ain't she somethin'?

baby blue.
(taken by sarah kieffer)

this pic was taken at our welcome-to-the-world party
by our very own photographer extraordinaire,
sarah kieffer.
you should hire her. i'm serious.

addie's first trip to the apple orchard

tummy time!

so serious.

aviator baby.

addie loves daddy.

the fam.

the three heaner kids, great grandma ruth
and happy, well-loved adeline.

addie and our awesome midwives,
vanessa and jennifer.
they are like family to us.

mommy time.

kisses!

adeline likes to roll with her homies:
two plush puppies we've nicknamed
spike and bowser.

meet adeline

she's a month and two days old, now... so we're a little behind in posting this, as seems to be the trend.

anyhow, here she is. our little bundle.


adeline meadows heaner
born 7/27/11 5:03 pm CST
in our home
5 lbs 1 oz, 18.5 inches tall


she is the sweetest thing ever. seriously. we're not even biased.ok. maybe a little biased.

a bit of a non-starter...

so, our closing was put off. again. we should be closing next tuesday or wednesday. we've heard horror stories about short sale closings, so on the whole, this has been a pretty easy ride. and it's not like we'll be twiddling our thumbs (never did like that word... "twiddling." yuck.)

now we have more time to clean and pack our apartment. YAY!

in honor of not being home owners (yet), i thought it was time to post the promised video of our first little home. but when i tried loading it... well... that was a non-starter too. so pictures will have to suffice.

without further ado, i give you 2226 dupont:

the verdict is in.

we had a "secret" ultrasound last week...

"secret" because we didn't want to get people's (read: our moms') hopes up just in case little baby heaner decided to keep us in suspense yet again.

well, LBH (little baby heaner) was a teensy bit more cooperative this time. the doctor who did it has been doing ultrasounds for 36 years and he said he was staking his good name on the fact that we'll be having a:

(that's not my tummy -- i'm only 6 months along, for goodness sakes! -- just thought it was a cute image)

yes. it's a girl. we couldn't be happier. bring on the frilly dresses and cute bonnets!

in other news: we're closing on our house tomorrow, so we'll have updates for you on that very soon.

much love to all.

best laid plans...

well, you know what they say. even the best laid plans go awry. or something like that.

the house closing got moved back another week. we're looking at closing on may 5th now. which really isn't so bad.

we have flexible and totally amazing landlords (if you're looking for a lovely one-bedroom, ours will be available soon. you know... god willing and the creek don't rise).

we have friends who are willing to roll with the punches with us (or at least rearrange their calendars yet again to help us move).

we have a rocking realtor who keeps us informed, even when she doesn't have answers for us (if you're looking to buy or sell a house, whitney kieffer is the way to go).

and now we have waaay more time to pack and clean and prepare. the moving date has been reset to may 15 (she said, knocking on wood).

reality sets in

it's official. our apartment is a mess. there are boxes everywhere. granted, they're packed boxes -- which is really what we're going for here. but still. we've done something to get ready to move (more like 80 things) every day, just to keep the proverbial ball rolling. and last night, tim-the-wonderful finished packing and cleaning the basement! it looks fantastic and was so much work. it was so lovely to come home after work and class and see that we were still making progress.

the other day, before the boxes had started to overtake every walking space, i took a little video of our first home together. maybe i'll post that at some point in the future for those of you who never got to visit our cozy place.

it's bittersweet. leaving. starting a new chapter together. owning something as massive as a house. becoming adults. it's exciting and frightening and a bit of a blur. but i'm starting to feel like, hey, this is actually going to happen.

one of the weirdest things about this whole process has been that we've had to stay ready for change at a moment's notice. frankly, that's made the past few months a tad stressful. we're never sure whether we're in for another long delay or a frenetic few hours of trying to get massive amounts of obscure paperwork together.

we had a visit with our midwife last week. she asked us how we were coping with the moving/house buying stress... whether we were fighting a lot or more cranky with each other... and the happy truth is that even though this has been a stressful time, we're doing really well. in fact, we are closer than ever before. rather than pushing us apart, all the change and the intensity has brought a peculiar (wonderfully peculiar) unity between the two of us. i'm guessing that has something to do with grace. and God's faithfulness.

but i'm just guessing.

(if you are dying to use your biceps (and proper lifting techniques), we'll be moving on saturday, april 30. pretty, pretty please let me know if you're coming so i can make sure to have enough food. i hate not having enough food. email lisaheaner@gmail.com.)

moving (possibly) quickly.

hello, friends. meet our house. house, meet our friends. aren't you happy to know each other? things are moving quickly. or it seems that way, now. after months of uncertainty and set-backs, it looks like we'll be closing on our little house on april 28th afterall. we are excited. and packing like crazy. (wanna help?)