Other Baby Brother

 Guess who is 65 and happier than a hog in slop to be on Medicare?  My other baby brother that is who! 

Here he is in 1965 when he was 5 years old. 

Happy Birthday to my other baby brother!  Love you lots and I am thankful you are my brother!

Far Side

October 26

 This is the day that my other baby brother was born and my baby brother and I told everyone his name was Jody,  I was nine and my baby brother was six.  A neighbor lady visited Mom in the hospital and said "What a cute name for your baby" ... and so he was named. 

Here he is in 1961 when he was one year old. 

Happy Birthday Jody! 

Far Side

Older

 It is my other baby brothers birthday today.  We will have root beer floats later today...his favorite.

Here he is on his first birthday in 1961. 

 My parents had that chair for a really long time.  There is a photo of me in the chair in 1952 and when we cleared out Mom and Dads home in 2022 the same old chair was in the garage...threadbare but still rocking.

Happy Birthday Jody!

Far Side

Jody is 62

 My other baby brother is 62, how can that be?  I was 9 years old when he was born.   We graduated from High School 10 years apart and both got married the same year we graduated. 

Here he is in 1961 when he was 1 year old.  Looks like Mom was taking the photo with her Kodak camera and others were standing around....not sure who is holding the cake.  This photo was taken at the house on the farm. 

Happy Birthday Jody!  

He lives right next door to us...well next door country style...I can walk there! 

Far Side

60 years ago

 My other baby brother was born 60 years ago. ( I became the favorite big sister!) Hardly seems right that he should be 60...but time marches on.  My baby brother and I were so excited to get a new baby brother...as I recall we both wanted a brother!

Since I was nine years old when he was born I spent lots of time with him.  He drank from a cup when he was six months old...cause he refused bottles....and was a pill to put to sleep every night.  It was often my job to rub his back and talk to him as he fell asleep in his crib.  When I thought he was asleep I would sneak out of the room...most times to the sound of him waking up cause I left him alone...and so I had to calm him down yet again.  I am not quite sure why he couldn't just cry himself to sleep...perhaps it was just a way to keep us both out of trouble.

He was a cute kid! 

My Dad and my other baby brother in Washington DC.  My Dad was part of the Honor Flight from Fargo North Dakota and my other baby brother accompanied him in May of 2016.

Happy Birthday other baby brother! 

Far Side

Other Baby Brother

My other baby brother who lives next door is older today.

I recall very clearly the day he was born.   I was nine years old. My baby brother ( who was six years old) and I wanted a brother and we got one! ( We even named him…imagine my Mother’s surprise when the neighbor ladies went to the hospital to see the new baby who had such a perfect name…we told everyone what his name was…except our Mother and Father.)  He was the best baby ever…and as he grew older he spent a lot of time with me.  He listened to me without question …and I endured his “why” stage that seemed to last forever… he could talk to anyone about anything and still has that gift of gab that has served him well in his business.

My Dad and my other baby brother…he wanted to move dirt just like Dad…and he still does.

 

He also likes to fish and enjoys evenings out on the lake. 

I am blessed to have him live next door…he moves our snow and helps me gas up the lawnmowers etc…and if I should need some help he is just a phone call away.

Happy Birthday Jody!  58 years seem to have gone by just like that.  I think Mom wanted to name you Drew or Allan…but you sure didn’t look like a Drew or an Allan.

Jody’s Birthday

Today my other baby brother is older than he was yesterday.

I was nine years old when he was born.

50 years ago he posed for some photographs for me.  I was doing a photography project for 4 H.

I was supposed to be capturing Action Shots. That Spruce tree in the background was planted by my baby brother (Carey) when he was little.  That patch of flowers is where the outhouse used to be.  The swing set had a glider and two swings.  On top of that pole on the left was a big old birdhouse with lots of rooms for birds.  In the background was the pasture….where beef cattle (Herefords) grazed.

A nice shot of the lilacs and a blurry other baby brother on his bike.

Since I was older my other baby brother listened to me really well.  He talked non stop and asked why why why and I tried to answer as best I could…he was a curious kid.

Now he lives next door to us and plows snow for us in the winter.  He still talks a lot but it is good for his business and he knows more people than you can shake a stick at.

If you want something done right…a road built, a basement dug or a building site prepared or a brand new septic system then my other baby brother is the fellow to call.  That is him in the white hat.  They were working down on a local corner one day…here they are setting a culvert.

Happy Birthday Jody!

Wistful Wednesday : 50 years ago

This is a photo my Mom took at the farm right by the picture tree in the Fall of 1966.

Connie 15, Carey 12, Jody 6th birthday.

Our sister Julie was born in the summer and was only a few months old so she was not in the photo.  From all the leaves on the trees it was probably a photo taken before October 26, plus the boys have almost new looking jeans.

I am holding my other baby brothers hand, we were buds, he spent a lot of time with me. He was a talkative kid (he is still talkative) and inquisitive…Why?  Why this? Why that?  I always tried to answer his questions the best I could.

Happy Birthday Jody!

 

Birthday Celebrations

We were invited to several different birthday celebrations this weekend. 

The first for a friend who was 50.  Her family hosted a surprise party for her.  We knew her husband long before he met her on a Wild Fire Crew in South Dakota.  They have two wonderful teenage children we have enjoyed watching grow up! It was a fun afternoon sharing old stories!

The second celebration was at my other baby brothers house.  They have a birthday week with three birthdays happening within four days.  One of my nieces was 31, one will be 28 and my other baby brother the old double nickels. Happy Birthday Jody!! We had a yummy lunch and cupcakes, with lots of visiting!

I took some photos of the family gathering.

Here they are in family groups….oldest to youngest with my brother and his wife in the center.  My brother has eleven grands and the twelfth will arrive in March….right now it is six girls and five boys. (Will Stacey tie it up?  Or will the girls rule!)

Chance got older too, he thanks you for all the birthday wishes! 

October 26, 2014

We are on our way to brown…real fast!

A little bit of golden color was left in this area in Smoky Hill State Forest yesterday.  We took Chance for his long birthday ride!

He had a good day…it is hard to believe he is ten years old. he is such a good boy, and yes he got extra treats yesterday!

It is my other baby brothers birthday today, I was nine when he was born.

Happy Birthday Jody!   (about 1 year old in 1961)

Birthdays and Surgery

Far Guy had his oral surgery yesterday, his last wisdom tooth and a fistula were removed.  He feels like crap.  He rests when the pain lets him.  I suspect it will be a slow recovery and I am hoping that he doesn’t suffer with a dry socket this time.

Chance had a pretty good birthday, he went for two rides and played ball several times.  We took another birthday photo.  The wind was blowing and someone was shooting ducks down on the river both things tend to make a Border Collie nervous.

I captured him doing one of his favorite things.

We left Far Guy home to rest when we went for our late afternoon drive.

Happy Birthday to my other baby brother today!  He is getting pretty old.

Here he is propped up on the couch when he was about 2 months old in 1960.

He was a good baby, he gave me lots of babysitting practice:)

I am nine years old than him

I was nine years old when my other baby brother was born in 1960.  I helped to teach him important stuff..how to drink out of a cup..how to use the potty and how to stay out of trouble.

I remember the day that he fell on an old fire truck and put a huge gash in his arm..it bled and I wrapped his arm in a towel..he still has a scar on his arm.   I am sure he forgot all about it..I never have..I was responsible.  I should have been watching him closer.  He cried and cried..and so did I.

This photo must have been taken about 1963.  I was 12 and he was 3.  Nice of me to show him the finer points of a bow and arrow. The bow, arrows and the quiver belonged to my baby brother Carey ( who would have been 9)..we probably stole borrowed it.

I like this photo..he is trying so hard!  In the background is the old garage, the old chicken coop and the corn crib on the farm where we were raised. 

Well that little boy is in his 50’s now..his birthday was yesterday.  Happy Birthday to my other baby brother:)

October 26: My Other Baby Brother

This date in history is kinda important to me. It is the day that my other baby brother entered the world in 1960 when I was nine.  I honed my babysitting skills on him.  He had no choice..he was stuck with me.  He was a pill. When he was six months old he refused a bottle. Mom had been breast feeding him..but he got some teeth (ouch). He was a biter.  He had a cup..which is fine..except at bedtime…then someone (usually me) would stand in the dark at the crib and pat his back or gently shake the mattress beneath him to lull him to sleep. Most nights I would even sing or tell  him stories.. His breathing would change and he would relax and fall asleep..then you had to wait, right there in the dark..first you would stop the patting or shaking..but stand at the crib poised to continue if he stirred..if all went well you could slowly sneak out of the room..sometimes you didn’t make it half way to the door before he was sitting up and screaming. This took at least twenty minutes every night..sometimes longer.

 

December 1960 we are all watching TV..it was our first TV!! Me age 9, my Dad holding my 2 month old other baby brother, and my baby brother age 6.

As he grew older he was my shadow and I kept him out of trouble and danger…except the time he fell on the metal fire truck…that was my fault..I was not keeping a close enough eye on him. He has quite a scar on his arm.

1963: My baby brother age 9, my Mom, my three year old other baby brother and me age 12 sporting some stirrup stretch pants and beautiful jewelry.

My other baby brother was a nonstop talker, and still is....when he was little he chattered non stop..why this? why that? ..he was always curious about the world around him. He would talk to anyone who would listen to him, old and young alike.

So now this little baby boy turns fifty..even Far Guy said “I cannot believe your brother is fifty.”

My other baby brother and his wife “she who sees robins first” and all of their grands. Last Sunday they invited us over for lunch and cake to celebrate!  Happy Birthday Jody! :)

A Birthday Party Fourty Five Years Ago

I am the oldest person in this photo, and my baby brother is the youngest.  He was four years old back in 1964, and I was thirteen.   Gosh that year we had sunshine on his birthday..not so much today.   This photograph was taken on the farm.   Lots of local people are in this photo..everyone is still alive!   However the poor old dog in the corner of the photo has passed on ( He died on my birthday in 1974) he was a Spitz and his name was Wally.   Everyone lives in this area, except for my brother who lives in Oregon.   One of the people in this Photo still lives on that farm..who woulda thunk it?     I had a hard time identifying one person in this photo..my cousin Dwight, his curly hair and his nose and chin gave him away.   It is a good reminder to get out that photo pencil and mark some old photos.  I found it a very interesting photo.. Happy Birthday to my  Baby Brother..next year he will be 50!!

Nope never was a majorette..never coordinated enough to march and twirl at the same time.  :)