Kimba

Doing my civil duty

On one of my "outings" this week, Wyatt and I wandered around the mall down the street from us. I found myself in Bath & Body Works on a whim, and decided to treat myself with new lip gloss.

C.O. Bigelow's Bare Mint Mentha Lip Tint. I was instantly in love. Just a bit of color, the perfect neutral, a hint of mint.

Then I promptly lost it.

I think it slipped out of my diaper bag the day after, quite tragic.

So tragic, I might have gone back for a second, which is safely tucked away in a zipped portion of my bag.

Of course, there are other great colors available, if Bare Mint isn't your cup 'o tea. And the kicker? Their semi-annual sale starts Monday, June 1st.

You're welcome.

Close Encounters

Wyatt is completely fascinated with Bear.

Bear is completely indifferent.

He can't be bothered with babies when he has better things to do. Like Caleb Watch.

However, if Wyatt makes enough noise Bear will oblige him, if only for a second or two.

That shut Wyatt up for a good twenty seconds. Until of course, I attacked him with a wipe.

I know where that tongue's been.

Baby Extravaganza: Nursing

*Disclaimer: this post will contain all sorts of nursing related terms and vocabulary. Ye be warned.

To nurse or not to nurse. I'm not going to tell you which to choose, because it's a highly personal decision, one that is different for everyone for all sorts of reasons. What works for me doesn't work for everyone, and quite frankly, as long as your baby is gaining weight, you're good.

I can only give advice and knowledge on the stuff I know, so, that means ya'll get nursing tips. Woo!

So. Nursing. The perks are, as follows:

*It's free! Free is good.

*You can walk out that front door knowing you have enough food for the munchkin. In fact, in most cases, you could nurse that kid forever if needs be. (I don't recommend it...but..que sera sera....)

*Nursing burns approx. 500 calories per day. You really can't diet since you are feeding your baby, but it is pretty awesome to sit on the couch knowing you're burning calories without so much as lifting a finger.

For a complete list of perks, see here.

Of course there are disadvantages. You are their only source of nourishment and so getting a break is a little more complicated. I didn't get a real break until April, an entire 5 months after Wyatt was born, though part of that was my preference. You can certainly pump, and I do recommend it, but you'll need to also pump for that "missed" feeding, otherwise your boobies will be rocks and trust me, it's not comfortable. Nursing is entirely on a Supply and Demand system, so you can't continually skip feedings without it affecting your supply. Also, breastmilk is so easily digested by the baby that they need to be fed more often. (This is also a perk though, because constipation isn't an issue, they're less gassy, and don't spit up as much) This means more feedings at night, for a longer period of time. Many babies still wake up during the night to feed up to 9 mths. So. There's that.

Time for tips.

Firstly, I advise you to do as I say and not as I did, and learn about it beforehand. I naively assumed it was natural and would come fairly easy, and a lot of it does, but sometimes issues arise, you'll have questions, and if you're anything like me, will worry you're "doing it right". Read. Learn.

Also, take advantage of any and all lactation nurses while you're still in the hospital. I didn't do this either, and wish I had. One thing I learned is that nursing involves two people, and you can learn and read all you want, but you also need to teach your baby proper latching.

Speaking of which, it is ALL ABOUT THE LATCH. Latch, latch, latch. There are all sorts of articles and videos about it online, but again, nothing is better than a professional standing there showing you. We went through a few days of improper latch, and believe you me, it is painful. Unnecessarily so.

It IS painful at first though, so be prepared. If I remember right, it was a good few weeks before the pain went away, but it does, and before you know if you won't even hardly feel it.

For the first few days after you deliver you'll only be producing colostrum. It's chock full of nutrients for your baby, but there isn't a lot of it, so it will feel like you're nursing nonstop, and you almost are. Thankfully though, it's short lived and when your milk does come in you'll be able to fill up that belly quicker and nurse less often. 2 - 3 hours. (I swear there's a difference!) Mine came in by the 2nd morning, and it was the strangest feeling. It's called engorgement, and that's precisely how you feel. Full. Heavy. It's slightly painful.

Also, you look like Dolly Parton. They're absolute rocks.

(Not sure if this is a perk...your husband might think so, but he is wrong. VERY, VERY WRONG.)

And when you are engorged, and you will be on and off until your boobies figure out how much they need to make, breastfeeding can be a challenge. I remember one morning in the beginning, I was in my room, Wyatt was hungry and crying, and I was desperately trying to get him to latch. He couldn't however, because I was too full. His mouth was too tiny. I didn't know what to do and was nearly in tears myself, and then my mom popped her head in with a suggestion that saved me. (Let me know if you want details.)

Other breastfeeding moms are your friends. (So are non-breastfeeding moms of course, but I'm talkin' as far as nursing advice goes...)

So are these products:

*Lanolin. Do not plan to breastfeed without it. This stuff is GOLD. I bought Medela's from Target, but I'm sure any brand will work. You apply it after each feeding, and it's perfectly safe for the baby, no need to wipe off before the next feeding. Do this from the very beginning (even if you don't think you need it) and you'll save yourself a lot of nipple ache. Of the raw, bleeding variety. Trust me. You won't need it forever, but it's more than worth it.

*Nursing pads. There are a ZILLION different kinds out there, my favorite one is Lansinoh's disposable pads. I originally bought a cheap box, very thin, thinking that's what I wanted. I choose tampons for a reason, who would want to wear some thick pad in their bra? 

ME. I DO.

I quickly discovered that thin meant leakage, and there is nothing more embarrassing than having a conversation with someone and glancing down to see your shirt wet. Very wet. Increasingly so.

Do yourself a favor, whether you go with my preference or not, pick something substantial.

*Nursing bra's. You're going to need them. I just picked up a couple from Target (do you see a pattern here?) and they've been fine. I have one with an underwire and one without, and they're both fairly comfortable, but I do prefer the one with a wire for vanity's sake. As big as your boobies get while pregnant, they get even bigger if you breastfeed. 'Nuff said.

        - Nightime nursing bra. You need one. I didn't think about this until AFTER I had the baby, and spent the first night trying to make a tank top work. It didn't. I woke up the next morning informing Caleb that he'd need to go get one for me, and then a package arrived from my wonderful friend containing just that. I almost cried with joy. (Actually I probably did...) I'm fairly certain it's this one from Medela, I'm not positive because I ripped it out of the package and didn't look back. I love it, it's comfortable and keeps the nursing pads in place all night long. You'll be using it every night until you're done breastfeeding, so make sure you love it.

*Nursing cover up. You don't NEED one, a blanket will do, (and trust me, you'll have a million of them) but I really enjoy the cover I have and am so grateful I bought it. I got it from (yup! you guessed it!) Target, and use it all the time. It loops around your neck so you won't have to worry about it falling (or your baby pulling it down once he / she is older), and it has a piece of plastic sewn in to form an arc at the top so that you can see your baby. It also has a small terrycloth pocket sewn in at the bottom to hold your nursing pad while you're feeding. Genius. An errant used nursing pad is a conversation killer. If you know what I mean.

One more tidbit of advice: the second you feel that something is off, your breasts just don't feel right, call your doctor. Mastitis, and other breastfeeding issues, can quickly escalate if you don't get help soon. I was lucky enough to get it while on vacation, and wasn't able to get in right away. I quickly went from lounging on the beach to moaning and sweating with a 103 degree fever. If you catch it quickly, like I did, you'll get some nice antibiotics and it will clear up quickly. If not...well. Let's just say scalpels are involved.

Alright. I'm sure you've heard enough of me and my girls. In summary, arm yourself with knowledge. And lanolin. While it's a sacrifice, it's something I've never regretted. Not once. 103 degree fever and all.

As always, comments, questions, and your own tips are welcome. Share the wealth!

Observation

It is a strange feeling going to the grocery store alone.

Before we had Wyatt I always forced Caleb to come grocery shopping with me, and he hated every minute of it. I sort of love grocery shopping, and always wanted to turn it into a fun activity. Joking about odd products, racing each other down the isles, riding on the cart...

Despite my best efforts, he still hated it. And when I got pregnant and we talked about the fact that I would be staying home with the baby and what that all entailed, Caleb confessed that one of the biggest things he was looking forward to, or at least, one of the perks, was going to be the fact that he would for the most part, no longer be required to go grocery shopping.

These days I put Wyatt in the sling, forward facing, and march down the isles. I talk to him, tell him what we're looking at, ask him if he thinks this artichoke looks good, or whether that bunch of banana's will hold their green the longest. He appears equally enthralled with it, and I have a little buddy to keep me company.

Every once in a while though, like tonight, I go alone, after he's asleep. I wander the isles, slightly bored, suppressing the urge to call someone just for the sake of talking. And while this is different, I also notice something else.

When I have Wyatt with me, almost everyone I see talks to him, coos at him, asks me questions, tells me about their kid/ grand kid / friend's daughter's grand kid. A few clever people ask me, "what isle did you find HIM in?!" Many give me the age-old wisdom to enjoy it while he's young, because before I know it, he'll be old and (insert older children behavior here).

When I go grocery shopping alone, no one talks to me.

And I kind of miss it.

Sittin' pretty

Wyatt learned a new trick!

To be honest, he didn't so much as learn it as he just sort of did it. He didn't even seem to notice anything or make any kind of indication that he was aware that he was suddenly sitting up on his own.

We have to thank Bridgette for bringing over her blocks for some project brainstorming. He's quite taken with them, we're clearly going to be needing to purchase some of our own.

*************

We had a lovely, relaxing Memorial Day weekend, and hope you had the same! God bless America, and God bless our service men and women, past and present.

Confessions

1. I drove home from Costco today with Wyatt in nothing but his diaper. I think about a teaspoon made it in his diaper, and the rest went straight up the back. I'm not kidding, I was wiping his neck off. And then the carseats (thankfully they're leather). And then he napped like that, because the air hadn't been turned on yet and it was warm in the house. And then he sorta just stayed that way the rest of the evening. Eh.

(Honestly, does he ever have both socks on at once?)

2. We've been in the house for what? 3 weeks? A month? I haven't emptied the garbage in our bathroom yet. Not once. And trust me, it needs it. BAD. I don't know why, I know it needs to be done, but it's like, the last thing on my ever-growing list. And now it's become like, a game.

3. Over the course of the past week and a half, I have slowly been cutting my own hair. Caleb has helped me with the back a bit (he will hate that I admitted that). It's not quite done, I cut a bit here and there every few days or so, but. Yeah. I have no hair cutting abilities at all, in fact, the only other time I've ever attempted such a feat, it didn't end well.  But so far it's not too bad. It's not FABULOUS, but. It'll do. Maybe.

4. Wyatt is maybe eating a little bit of apples, so that makes what? Two things? Sort of? If I distract him enough? I really think it's the texture, he'll eat anything I offer to him that isn't on a spoon, and squishy. Tonight I decided to test my theory. For dessert I made homemade whip cream to go along with our fresh raspberries (I love summer fruit!), and let Wyatt lick the beaters. It's just cream. With a tiny touch of sugar and vanilla. Not the healthiest, I know, but it was pretty dang cute.

             

And after? He opened his little baby gullet wide for a little bit off my spoon. I hope it's a sign of things to come.

Except, Wyatt? From now on it's fruits and veggies. You heard me, young man.

Baby Extravaganza: Sleeping Arrangements

 

image via Dwell Studio

This post is going the be the first in a series of baby-related posts that I'll be compiling and adding to. I plan to go back and add old posts that are relevent, and everything will be kept under the Baby Extravaganza tab, at left. It's an attempt to keep all the little tips and tricks and things I've learned in one place, so I'll remember them the next time around. Hopefully this can also help a few people as well, or at least get you thinking. As always, the way I do things isn't the Right Way, or the Only Way, it's just the right way for me. That is, until I discover a NEW right way. But that's the best part about this journey, I'm always learning new things.

One of the major decisions you make as a new parent is sleeping arrangements, and all the lovely little stuff that goes with it.

For the first few weeks to few months, most parents have the baby sleep in their room with them, so technically, you don't NEED a crib right away, but I know that to the nesting mother-to-be, being prepared is of utmost importance. The crib that we chose was on back order (along with nearly everything else we chose to buy) and for a long time it looked like it wasn't going to come before the baby arrived. While I knew he'd be sleeping in our room, it still made me nervous. It doesn't make sense, but then, nothing does when you're pregnant.

There are a few choices you have regarding actual sleeping arrangements, you've got a bassinet / cradle, a co-sleeper (attaches to your bed), and then there's always, in your bed.

We weren't fans of co-sleeping, I'd vowed to never sleep with my baby for safety reasons (never say never...it happened a handful of times) and were lucky enough to have access to a cradle that Caleb's family passes around, so we didn't need to purchase anything. To be honest, I wasn't planning on buying one, I'd actually always assumed my baby would sleep in his crib in his room. Then I got pregnant and the thought of my baby in an entirely different room was almost too much to bear - so I was extremely grateful for the cradle. 

That said, if for some reason we don't have the cradle for our next baby, I'm not going to buy one.

Most pack 'n' plays now come with an attachment that brings your baby up high, the exact same way a bassinet or cradle does, and you're probably going to be purchasing one anyway. (We love our Graco.) Unless you never plan to ever go anywhere. (You should plan to go SOMEWHERE, trust me.) This way, you only have to buy one item, and you'll use it often, and the baby will be used to sleeping in it. We use ours at HOME, just to keep him corralled, and it was a lifesaver before we got a rug in our living room.

Which crib you choose is entirely up to you. We had to pick a few items that we'd "splurge" on, and which ones we go cheap on. We chose to splurge on our crib and rocking chair since we want to use these for all of our kids. The rest of the furniture in the room we got at Ikea, not knowing how long we'd need them for.

One item I hemmed and hawed over was the changing table. The crib we purchased had an attachment you could buy that went across the top of half of the crib. I liked that idea, and seriously considered it. After talking with my mom however, I chose not to get any kind of changing table. It's really going to depend on your circumstances though. If you're not breastfeeding and plan to switch off who gets up to feed and change the baby, you might want a separate table in the baby's room so that the person who gets to sleep, can. Or maybe you are breastfeeding, but your husband is a super light sleeper and needs his sleep for work. In that case, I've heard of several people putting an actual bed in the baby's room so that the mom can sleep in there. No sense in getting up and walking into another room, is there?

I was exclusively breastfeeding, but Caleb is the world's deepest sleeper (first story), so I fed and changed him right in my bed. By the time he was sleeping in his own crib, I wasn't changing his diaper at night anyway, so we never needed a separate table.

If this is the route you choose, all you'll need is:

* a little mat (I purchased a Circo changing mat from Target, but can't find the link - it's cloth and thin and you'll probably buy one to put underneath the sheets in your crib anyway) to place under neath them. You will need this, trust me. In fact, get two. Babies like to wait until they're naked to poop and pee. We learned. Several times.

*I also HIGHLY recommend a dimmer lamp for beside your bed to keep it just light enough to see what you're doing, but not bright enough to wake your sleepy baby. I grabbed one from Ikea. 

*a little bin to hold diapers, wipes, diaper cream, powder, a toy or two, lotion, Mylicon, baby Tylenol....you get the idea. I picked up one for cheap from Bed Bath & Beyond, but I know they have actual diaper caddies you can buy with special places for everything. This would probably be lovely, but my OCD tendencies have overlooked it. I don't mind that everything is all crammed in there. We use this bin still, and have taken it on our car rides to Utah. It's so nice to have everything you need in one place, especially when you're not at home. If you plan to fly alot and don't want to stuff a huge bin into your luggage, Ikea makes bins that unzip to lie flat - perfect.

*Maybe this is a no brainer, but those infant gowns are REALLY NICE for night time changes - no buttons, no zipper, just quietly pull it up and pull it down. The more sleep you both get, the better. Plus, you can adequately get to their bare legs to tickle and keep them awake so that they eat something.

Happy sleeping! 

As always, comments, questions, and suggestions are more than welcome!

Current Events

Current events at the Kimba household:

Wyatt is:

A. Refusing a bottle, despite the fact that he used to take one just fine
B. Sortof maybe allowing a little bit of sweet potatoes to slide on in, provided there is distraction
C. Getting a second tooth on the bottom (apparently his first was lonely)
D. All of the above

I don't think I need to tell you the correct answer.

Thankfully, he only gets really fussy after his last nap and before bedtime. And that's only if we dare to put him down. (We wouldn't dream of it!)

**************

Today we walked to the park to get some energy out of the mutt,

who is in SERIOUS need of a bath and a shave. It's the longest he's been in ages, and I don't like it one bit. I was once again asked if he was a puppy, and once again shocked someone by telling them he is actually 6. Everybody who sees him thinks he's a puppy. I don't know if it's his high energy or his dopey face, but no one believes us.

While I threw the ball (using the Chuck-It, of course) Wyatt patiently waited his turn.

Then we hit the swings.

It was his first time, and he studied it very carefully,

before deciding he rather liked it.

He also caught a glimpse of the playground, and was quite awestruck.

I think he's going to enjoy the park.

Wyatt: 6 months

Wyatt is 6 months old today, an entire half of a year. It's been a blip. The days are flying by so quickly it's almost frightening. A couple times a week I have to double check with Caleb what day it is, sometimes because I honestly don't know, the days are kindof the same to me, but mostly because I have a hard time believing that it's Wednesday and not Monday. Tuesday, and not Saturday. In another six months we're not going to be putting the same baby to bed at night. He's going to be walking. Talking. Eating solid foods, REALLY solid foods (that is, if we can get him to start...). He's going to be getting into everything. We'll look back and not be able to believe that six months before that, he was here. Rolling, refusing anything on a spoon, staying in the same general area when we put him down.

Six months ago? Wow. Six months ago he didn't even have a name yet.

Let's see, monthly changes. He's rolling all over the place. If he sees something he wants, he can generally get to it by rolling this way, that way, arching and turning, and using his feet to push himself places. I don't know if I'd say he was "scooting" yet, but he can get around, that's for sure.

His sleep is about the same. He's up at least twice a night, sometimes more. Sometimes he still wakes up a little while after being put down, other nights he'll sleep until 11 or so, for his first feeding. As soon as he started rolling from back to front I stopped bundling him altogether, even putting his sleep sack away. Where I used to be able to walk in during the night and pick him up in the same place I put him down, I now I have to find him. It's dark in his room (we've still got to replace the cardboard behind his blinds with proper curtains...) and it's anyone's guess as to where he's rolled to. The top, the bottom, the sides, right side up, on his stomach.

As for naps, he usually goes down well, but I never know how long it will be for. For a long time it was 45 minutes, almost exactly. A lot of the time it's an hour. Every once in a while he'll extend it a bit, back to two hours. Sometimes he wakes for the day at 8 (after a feeding at 6), sometimes he's up at 7. I don't know if this is how it will always be with him, not a set schedule, or if he'll eventually settle into one. I would REALLY LOVE him to settle into one, but as I've had to learn (over and over and over again) it's not up to me. I'm very VERY grateful for the bits of advice I've gleaned from Dr. Weissbluth's book, namely the two hour rule. It's amazing, and gave me a good place to start.

Of course, a good portion of the month was filled with sickness. Though I know we are blessed to be so healthy, to have a little stomach bug be our biggest worry, it was terrible. I was constantly worrying about him, that he was getting enough fluids, that he was feeling well, that he was keeping food down. Every time he made any sort of coughing noise my entire body went on alert. This lasted for at least two weeks before I finally calmed down. It was the worst at night.

(Caleb "watching" Wyatt...we were all tired...)

We're currently working on getting him to sit up by himself, and if we get him in the right spot, legs folded just so, he'll stay up for a good 10 seconds before flopping over.

It's a work in progress. Most of the time he just leans back until he's resting on me again. Like, seriously? You want me to work for this? I'd rather just lie back, thankyouverymuch. Or he'll lunge for whatever toy is in reach and end up face first on the couch / floor. He doesn't seem to mind this. He just sort of shimmies his way until he's got each limb out from under him, and then goes about his business.

This last week I laid on the floor and put him on my stomach. In just a few seconds he'd pushed himself using his feet, up past my shoulder and then rolled over so that he was laying next to me, head to head. I put him back on my stomach several times, but he wouldn't stay. It cracked me up each time.

He has such a funny personality, and we're really enjoying getting to sit back and watch him. He's so happy. He grins every time he sees us again, whether we were gone for a few seconds or a few minutes. He's happy either way.

It's fun to see his little mind work, to watch as he starts to realize what's going on around him and anticipate our routines. Each night after I bathe him I hand him over to Caleb who folds him in a towel and gets him ready for bed. After Caleb wraps him up he always turns and shows Wyatt his reflection because he gets such a kick out of it. For the last week or so, Wyatt's remembered this and he starts grinning and turning his head in the direction of the mirror as soon as I plop him into Caleb's arms. He loves it.

During the last little bit he's started wanting to eat every two hours or so instead of 3 or even 4, and I think it's partially because he's growing, and partially because I'm not making as much as I was before. Another reason to get him to eat some solids, but it also just means I get to spend more time cuddling with him. He tends to get distracted, so I try to keep things quiet and just enjoy him. He likes to reach up with his free hand and run his fingers through my hair, or across my face. He's still a little short, so I have to bend down a bit until he can reach. If I don't, he lays there with his arm stretched up, fingers splayed, waiting until I do so.

I don't think I can adequately describe how much I love this little guy. It's more intense every day, more complicated. He changes so quickly and so entirely that it's impossible to put your finger on just how it is that you're so in love. I can't believe he's ours. That we get to be his parents. I don't know how we got so lucky, but we're so grateful. It took a long time to get pregnant, months of doctors appointments, ultrasounds, money, but it was so worth it.

We love you, little monkey.

Because you can't take a bath without one

I love to read. You wouldn't know it however, if you had observed my life for the last little while. I've been trying to figure out when I stopped, and all I know is there was a serious decline around the time I got pregnant. I was too exhausted. Too preoccupied with baby thoughts.

And then I had Wyatt and reached a new level of exhaustion, the likes of which I had never seen. If my head was anywhere near a pillow, reading was not on my list of things to do. After those first few weeks were over and I was at least getting some sleep, reading a novel still wasn't something that seemed possible. Mentally, it just was not possible.

Now I don't feel like I have the time to sit down and enjoy a book. I have time, I'm not THAT productive, I just don't feel like I have enough to fully immerse myself the way I want to. So I read magazines, because they have short articles that I can conquer. It requires less brain power and commitment.

I love to read for the same reasons I love to travel. I get completely engrossed. I forget about all the problems I have, all of life's little stresses, sometimes, if it's a really good book or location, I completely forget who I am, that I'm not that character. It takes me to a new place, introduces me to a new culture, and shows me a new way of thinking.

For these reasons, I haven't picked up a book in a long time. Or if I have, I haven't finished it. I get interrupted, can't fully pretend I'm Jane Eyre. It doesn't matter if I get interrupted while I read about how to best apply mascara, or how long to bake a cake.

I can name each book I've started and haven't finished, and up until recently it was only two books, Loves Music, Loves to Dance by Mary Higgens Clark (I went through a huge MHC phase in 6th grade), and Reading Lolita in Tehran. Now...well. It's a bigger list.

Instead of letting it bother me, and it will if I let it, I decided to finally pick up Life of Pi. I bought it a while back but wouldn't allow myself to start until I had finished books A, B, and C.

And maybe D, E, and F...

My favorite quote so far, and I've just started:

"Doubt is useful for a while. We must all pass through the garden of Gethsemane. If Christ played with doubt, so must we. If Christ spent an anguished night in prayer, if He burst out from the Cross, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" then surely we are also permitted doubt. But we must move on. To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation."

Ah! It feels so good to read again, even if it's only after this little dude is in bed:

(PS: Thanks to all of you for your help and suggestions! We're going to keep plowing through, one refused spoonful at a time. He'll eventually come around. I know it.)

No peas, please

So far, solids are not going well.

After that first trial night Wyatt started refusing rice cereal. And I don't mean he choked, or cried or something, I mean he refused to eat it. Mouth pursed, head turned as far away as possible. We tried distracting him, Caleb danced around behind me like a monkey (literally and figuratively) and every time I slid in some cereal he got upset. We were totally tricking him, and he caught on.

So tonight we decided to try something else, maybe he just didn't like the taste of rice cereal? I went grocery shopping today and picked up a small can of peas (this may not have been the best choice, but whatever...) to try. I plan to try my hand at making my own food, but have yet to pick up the book I'm going to use and I wasn't about to make an entire batch of peas if he refused them as well.

So. Well.

Maybe I'll just show you what happened.

Happily gumming on a spoon, he has no idea what's about to happen.

His first bite, and he's deciding how he feels about it.

And then, well.

 

He made his point.

Peas are on hold, for now. Clearly.

Wicked: Take 4

Last night we left Wyatt with a 'babysitter' (does it count if it's your mom? I feel like it does...) for the first time to finally FINALLY FINALLY see Wicked. This was our fourth set of tickets, the most recent blunder happened last week. There I was, talking to my dad about seeing the show I and decided I should print off the tickets while I was thinking about it.

So I did, and discovered that I'd purchased the Wednesday matinee show, yet somehow I wrote that it was the Tuesday night show on two calendars, my planner, and told my mother the same. She and my aunt had come out in part to watch Wyatt, but mostly because my aunt has never been to San Francisco and has always wanted to come. They were leaving Wednesday afternoon.

Of course.

I hurriedly purchased tickets for Tuesday night, thanking my lucky stars that it was even available less than a week away. Then I called Caleb and told him that we were yet again stuck with two sets of tickets.

He was not happy. As you might imagine.

Luckily I was able to sell them pretty quickly, it helps to use your resources, doesn't it?

We went up to the city early yesterday to spend the day with my mom and aunt and we had a fabulous time. We have no pictures however, because SOMEONE forgot the camera card in their laptop.

And for the first time ever, that someone was me.

Ugh.

We drove around the city seeing the few sights they hadn't seen yet, and even a few I'd never been to either. I took them to Tartine, partially for them, but mostly because I don't think it's possible for me to go now without stopping there. I have to say, Caleb earned every bit of his lemon creme tart, he spent the entire day driving around three women and a baby, enduring all sorts of girl talk and family gossip. And trust me, there was plenty of it.

Wicked was absolutely amazing, I think I enjoyed it even more than the first time, though that might have everything to do with the fact that our seats happened to be on the 8th row. We had no idea, you can't pick your tickets, and were more than pleasantly surprised to find ourselves so close. We could see spittle. Facial expressions. I touched the stage and peeked in the orchestra pit during intermission.

We didn't get back to my mom's hotel until late, and learned that Wyatt had pretty much woken up after we left. I had told them they could let him cry himself back to sleep, but I think my mom secretly wanted to play with him anyway. They promised he wasn't too fussy, I guess we'll know soon enough if she agrees to future babysitting requests.

Thank you, Mom and Kay! We had a great time.

Houston, we have a tooth

The last few days have brought some serious changes around here. On Saturday morning we were driving up to Ikea to get a few items for the house. I was in the back seat entertaining Wyatt, and discovered a TOOTH. A tiny scalloped tooth poking up from his bottom gums. I was floored, I hadn't noticed any symptoms, sure, maybe he'd been a bit fussy the day before, but there wasn't any drooling, no fever, no chomping-on-every-single-thing-in-sight the way he had done a month or so ago.

Yet there it was, a tooth. My baby. My baby who is now a baby with a tooth. I am not old enough to have a baby with teeth! Wyatt is much too young, isn't he? Isn't he still my tiny little baby? Never growing up?

I guess not. So we did what we've been talking about doing for a little while, we fed him his first cereal. I've been holding off until he was closer to six months, and secretly dragging my feet. Just another reminder that he's growing up.

Also? Goodbye, innocuous breastfed-baby poop. Hello smelly poop!

We hadn't even bought a proper high chair yet, the one I'd decided on was conveniently out of stock until today. That's alright though, he didn't seem to mind.

Today marked day three, and he is decidedly less enthused. I thickened it up a bit, and maybe that's why, but he did pretty well once it finally got into his mouth. It was the getting-it-in that was the problem. He'd purse his lips and arch his back and act all sorts of bothered. Like, how dare you feed me this mush?!  He just may not be a cereal fan.

I can't blame him. The stuff's terrible.

Caleb was holding him tonight and pulled out a slice of lunch meat (his snack of choice before dinner) and the way Wyatt was clamoring for it you'd think we never fed him. Though he does that with the remote, too. And our cell phones. So. Maybe that's not the best indicator.

One thing is for sure though, he IS growing up. He's rolling and reaching and dive bombing, and if he could, he'd be crawling everywhere. He's definitely busy, and I think I'm going to have to start baby proofing. Soon.

Unconventional gift

Yesterday was my first official Mother's Day, and I had planned to write a lovely little post about my wonderful mother, with a little smattering of how much I love being a mother myself.

And then I woke up and thought about death.

Not quite your typical Mother's Day thoughts, but bear with me.

More specifically, the recent death of an old friend. She lived behind my house and I spent much of my childhood playing with her and a few other neighbor girls. They were a few years older, enough to make them the bosses. They didn't use it to their advantage though, they took it upon themselves to be the leaders of our little group, and put on neighborhood parades for us. We'd ride around the cul de sac with streamers in the spokes of our bikes, blowing in the wind off of our handlebars. They created little dance plays and we performed them for local nursing homes. We played on her swing set, in her basement, and on the trampoline.

She succumbed to a three year battle with brain cancer and leaves behind a husband and three year old little boy. I am extremely grateful for the knowledge I have that she still lives, that she will once again see and be with her family again. I know she is in a better place, that she's finally free from her illness and the stresses of this world. We grieve for her family, her friends, those she left behind for now. Regardless of what we know and believe, it's still hard, you still miss them.

As I lay in bed and thought about all of this, I started crying. Despite it all, one thing was for sure. She definitely wasn't laying in bed cuddling with her little boy like I was at that moment. I was extremely grateful for the many blessings that I have, my health, a wonderful husband and our perfect little boy. Amazing parents, wonderful family, excellent friends. I am so lucky.

It wasn't the most conventional way to be reminded, but I guess sometimes that's what it takes. And since it IS me here, alive and able, I decided I need to do something with that gift. I need to live life to the fullest. I need to show more love, more empathy, more patience. I need to spend more time doing the important things, reading my scriptures, serving others. I need to figure out what I can do so that I leave this world a little better than it was.

My own little Mother's Day gift to myself.

I love 80 degrees

*lovely flowers courtesy of my mother in law - thank you! they're gorgeous!

I love 80 degree weather.

It means lounging on the floor, windows open wide.



It means long, slow walks at the outdoor mall.

It means lazy summer dinners: cashew chicken salad sandwiches, potato wedges, and fresh mango and blackberries.

It means boy time in the backyard.



It means testing out new running shorts at dusk.

It means cold Greek yoghurt, drizzled with honey for dessert (that's a post in and of itself: soon!).

Yup. I love 80 degrees.

Buisness. In more ways than one.

The house is still a work in progress. But it's coming.

As you can see, nothing is on the walls, there's a few random items sitting in the corners...

Not everything is quite put away...

But it's coming.

See? Told you the area was settled by the Swiss...or Germans...or whoever builds these cottage-like homes.

We have a few fruit trees, a Bearss Lime, Meyer Lemon, orange, and a couple cherry trees. Not sure if any of them will yield anything, but they smell nice, anyway.

***********

Last night, as you can see in my Twitter feed, we flushed the toilet and water backed up INTO THE TUB. I'll  be brief and polite and just say that what came up was not pretty. It was completely disgusting actually, and the absolute last thing we wanted to deal with. At least it didn't happen last week, during The Sickness. Dodged a bullet there, didn't we?

Today we had the Roto Rooter man come, and the three of us were stuck in the living room together while he worked.

Here's Wy, modeling our new carpet rug.

He quite enjoys it.

We had about an hour to kill, and spent most of it lying around. Or, they did.

Some of us were more bothered by it than others.

The sun is finally shining, which is going to make working in the house even more difficult. We might have to break for a few park runs. Get ourselves some nice organic Vitamin D.

Do Not Disturb

...currently working on two family newsletters whilst trying to come up with something great for Mother's Day (Why is it always ME doing all the presents? Cabe! Do you hear me?), all while keeping Wyatt fed, changed, and happy, the laundry caught up with, and unpacking the rest of the house.

I am slightly busy.

I don't even have pictures of the house to share, because SOMEONE took the camera card to work today, the second day in a row.

If I did though, I'd insert here a picture of the mutt laying prostrate on our new "rug". Caleb had the excellent idea of hitting up a local carpet store. We discovered that you can purchase carpet remnants for cheap, and they'll bind up the edges and supply a nice little mat for extra comfort. We found a piece that was large enough to get us a big rug in the main room, one going down the hall, and even a bit left for in front of the door. It's the closest thing we've had to carpet in years, and Bear is in heaven. I don't think we'll be able to move him from this spot.

And it feels so good on my toes.

So until I can find my head, go enjoy the fabulous family pictures that Design Mom had taken - someday I WILL have some as equally fantastic. From the location to the outfits, down to the last cupcake. I love it. Creative and timeless.

I'm going to need a few more kidlets though...

Lightroom: Take 1

As Caleb mentioned, we were recently involved in a trade. A lovely, wonderful trade that resulted in us receiving CS4 and Lightroom 2. I don't actually know how to work any of them, I didn't even really know how to work the old Photoshop program that we have, save creating a masthead here or there, but I'm ridiculously excited.

Or I was, until I opened up Lightroom today and was completely lost. Here's my first attempt - I don't even think I did anything. I don't know what anything does, or means. What in the world is a vignette? Recovery? ToneCurve?

To be honest, I don't even know the difference between hue and saturation. It's almost a travesty that such a program is in my hands.

In my defense, Caleb is equally (alright, maybe not totally equally...) baffled as far as Lightroom goes.

Also, we sort of have an issue with our laptops (we have the same type). The colors seem to be a little funky. Whenever we see our pictures on someone elses' computer, we're like...wha? They're too bright, too saturated (is that the right term? Caleb?).

So, that's like, three different excuses...

Either way, this little boy is my favorite. After a little relapse with the throw up, he's finally back to himself, happy-go-lucky Wyatt.  Which means I'm also getting things accomplished around this house. Pictures to come!

Outdated? Perhaps. Helpful? Definitely.

I don't know what it is, but lately I've been dreaming of having my very own rotary phone. I know, I know, they're annoying and slow and impractical in these modern times.

Then again, maybe that's just what we need, to slow things down. Get a little more personal. Who needs pre-set phone numbers? How many telephone numbers do you actually know? And hey, when trying to talk to an online customer service agent, those with rotary phones get to skip past the 3, 4, 6, 1, 2 number punching, right to the real live people.

Alright, so at least maybe a corded phone. Who doesn't remember twirling the cord around your fingers in nervous excitement as you talked to your boyfriend? What do we get to fiddle with now, huh? Myself, I've got to be doing something mindless while I'm talking. At work it was doodling. At home? Well, at home I find myself opening the refrigerator door.

A cord would do wonders for my waistline.