July 2013
The biggest news of the month was Doug and Vanessa welcoming their baby boy, Aiden Christopher O’Brien, to the world. 
Aiden was born on July 19th at 8 pounds, 5 ounces, and 20 inches long. We are so happy to have a new, adorable addition to our family. Dan & Maureen were there to greet him at the hospital and Kathryn was able to visit him the following weekend. Aiden is super cute and his cousins John, Larkin, and Reagan and his uncle Paulie can’t wait to meet him someday soon.
The O’Brien-Kindem families began the month at their Watauga Lake cabin. The entire family, except for Doug and an expecting Vanessa, were able to attend (we missed them very much), so that meant 17 of us were there. Fortunately, our neighbor was kind enough to lend us their cabin for the week, so we were able to spread out a little bit. The week was filled with great food, good conversations, lots of swimming and boating, and just a couple adult beverages (wink, wink). One of the highlights of the trip was John and Larkin learning how to swim on their own. John and Larkin were not afraid of the water, but at first had the desire to be held or in a raft. However, miss independent, Larkin Lu, decided on day 2 that she wanted to swim all on her own. Paul would let go of her and she would swim to one of her other family members. Larkin had an extremely determined look on her face each time she set out to swim to someone, but a huge smile would emerge as she was grabbed by her doting caretaker. What a joy this was to see. It took John a couple more days of being in the water, but around day 5 he worked up the courage and was swimming by himself. John had a smile the size of the Grand Canyon as he swam and by the end of the week, both were staying in the water for hours at a time, sometimes with their teeth chattering.
Reagan is quite the little fish herself. Her days of swimming on her own are well in the future, but she isn’t the slightest bit phased by the water. She was great at getting dunked under the water and would come up with a huge smile. All three loved being on the boat and Larkin even tried going tubing with Aunt Ki. This didn’t last long because the water was splashing in her face, but the fact that Larkin was willing to try it tells you a lot about her personality.
The trip got quite interesting about halfway through it. The lake was at a very high level when we arrived, but each 
night we would get more and more rain. There was flooding downstream from the lake so the TVA closed the damn and the lake levels kept rising, at more than a foot each day, which eventually started to cover the only road to our cabin. An informed neighbor told us we should move our cars because the road had about a foot of water on it and the lake was expected to rise another 3 feet. We moved our cars to a nearby church and waded our way back to the house. This made running errands or departing the house quite an ordeal. Some of us left the house by packing our goods in our motor boat and loading our cars at a nearby public boat ramp and others decided to carry their goods through the 60 foot wide stretch of 4 ft. deep water. By the very end of the week, those still remaining at the house were using the neighbor’s canoe to get items (and children) across. It made the trip very interesting to say the least, but it almost made the trip more special because it felt like we were on an adventure.
As mentioned before, there were 17 people (8 children), so it was very, very busy, but everyone worked well together and it was a fun family vacation. However, something vitally important was missing. It was missing the entire time and you could feel it in the air and see it on each of our faces. Jamie, our sparkling beauty, was not with us. Jamie had brought our families together; she had been the one to find this lake cabin; and in many ways was our “rock.” Jamie was on this trip the previous year when she was 9 months pregnant with Reagan, and Jamie, as much as anyone, truly appreciated family moments such as these. She would have been overjoyed to see her three children grinning from ear to ear as they played in the water or with their cousins and she would have enjoyed singing and dancing with her family. So, as with most events and things in our “new normal” lives, the trip was bittersweet. However, we know in our hearts and minds that Jamie wants us to push forward and continue having these great family vacations, so we do and will continue doing so.
Larkin continues to be fully potty trained and has even requested wearing big girl underwear at night time. She typically wakes at some point in the middle of the night and needs to go to the potty, but seeing how proud she is of herself for going the whole night with no accidents is quite worth getting up for a few minutes each night. All of us are quite impressed by our little Kapoozer. When she was still wearing her diaper at night, each morning, and she’d insist on holding up her diaper to our faces and telling us, “no pee-pee in their Daddy, no pee-pee in there.” Larkin has begun to put on her own underwear and even tries to put on her own clothes. She is determined to do things on her own and Daddy is always impressed with her physical capabilities as well as her kind and loving nature. Larkin listens well, but her independence certainly brings its own challenges.
John Boy is getting taller and leaner, and is looking less like a young toddler and more and more like a little boy by the day. Over recent weeks, he has gotten quicker on his feet and has good agility (Jamie always joked about wanting a sports scholarship for them, so we’re hoping for big things, haha). John is one of the silliest boys we have ever met. When Paul does pick-up or drop-off at daycare, John will run around the room, he will sing and dance, and the teachers will just smile and look at Paul and say, “that’s our John.” It’s obvious that John is tiring to take care of, but the teachers wouldn’t have it any other way because he keeps the classroom fully entertained. However, his stubbornness has started to get him in some trouble at times. They recently had to get multiple teachers to encourage John to clean up a mess he had made. He had taken an entire work station of toys and had thrown them all around the room and refused to clean them up. John had told the teachers, “No, I don’t want to,” and quite stubbornly stuck to his guns. Eventually they got him to do it, but Daddy had a conversation with John that night and the following nights about how and why we need to clean up after ourselves. Now, each day when Paul picks John & Larkin up, Paul asks them about their day and John’s first sentence is, “I cleaned up!” John can be manipulative when he wants something and is quite the negotiator, but he’s also very lovable and needs many big hugs and cuddle time.
REAGAN IS WALKING! She gained more and more confidence throughout the month and then one-day got all the way across the room and hasn’t looked back since. Reagan can’t say many words yet, but she communicates very affectively with her grunts, arm movements, tears, smiles, and big belly laughs. She is happy almost all the time, but when she wants something you know it right away. She continues to love watching her older siblings, but more and more she wants to be a part of things. She jumps on a small trampoline, pushes the big yellow truck and a small train around the room, and even picks up plastic letters and puts them into a small hole in the top of the train. Her hand-eye coordination is excellent for her age and she seems to understand most things that are said to her. Reagan continues to eat well, sleep well, and is non-stop when she is awake. She is literally a bundle of joy and is an instant, even if only temporary, cure for our sadness. Your heart and soul cannot help but feel relief when you see that radiating smile on her face.
Reagan has started spending two days a week with a nanny at a neighbor’s house. Paul thought it was time for Reagan to spend more time with another child her own age and also thought it would give the grandparents some much needed down time. Things are working out well thus far on this front. She seems to be adjusting well to the new surroundings and is enjoying making a new friend of her neighbor Thomas.
July 31st brought the month to a close. Exactly one year from the day our worlds were flipped upside down. As you know, our amazing and intriguing Jamie passed away on July 31, 2012. It is a day we will never forget. It is a day that will replay in our minds for the rest of our lives, and a day that has forever changed who many of us are. We miss Jamie more than words can describe and we ache for her ability to be with us: her children, her Paul, her family, and her friends.
The family went out for lunch at Watts Grocery, which is a nice restaurant located in downtown Durham. Jamie loved excellent food and she really loved Durham. Some of her co-workers called her the mayor of Durham b/c she was always telling people how great Durham was & that they were silly for not wanting to spend time there. Durham is an up-and-coming city and we encourage you to go to DPAC, a Durham bulls game or to check out one of the many amazing restaurants (best in the area) or bars. Just do it! Anyways, we had a nice lunch there and told many stories about Jamie. We then headed out to an Irish pub where more stories were told and many pints of Guinness and Baby Guinness shots were consumed. Finally we headed home to spend the evening with the Adorables, make homemade pizza, and relax as best we could. We love and miss you Jamie O’Brien Kindem and we did our best to celebrate and honor your life on this day.
Reagan’s birthday will be celebrated on August 10th (the day she came home from the hospital) this year. We will celebrate her birthday on her rightful day going forward, but thought this first year would be too difficult and wanted to make the day mostly for Jamie. Reagan is a wonderful gift, an amazing baby, and her birth will be celebrated, as it should be. We love this little girl so much and cherish her spirit greatly.