But I'm not ready yet!

Last week Kylie was sitting in the living room, hanging out with Micah and I (I know, I can't believe I just typed that myself. And it's true!) and she presented me with her scheduling request for Rangeview. High School. Rangeview HIGH SCHOOL.

Apparently she had to fill it out and I needed to sign off on it so she can begin the busy process of getting ready for her FRESHMAN YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL.

Oh. My. God.

I can not possibly have a child old enough for high school. I'm only 30. (Granted, I'll be 31 on her first day but still....)

I still remember her like this:


And like this:


And one of my favorite memories of her:

So as you can see, she can not POSSIBLY look like this:

and be about to be a freshman in high school. That just can't be possible. Because I'm certain that it was just yesterday that she looked like this:






So she can't at all be looking like this:


and signing up for Intro to Dance (Fee: $120) and Intro to Theater (Fee:$20). And also Advanced English and science and math and all that other fun stuff.

Because my baby still looks like this:


Right?

Sibling Rivalry

Until Will was born, Jason the cat was the "baby" of the family. Small, loving and fluffy, he enjoyed a life of endless adoration by Lizzie and being carried around like an infant by Kylie. With me he snuggled with me in bed and I fed him every morning at 6 am, whether I liked it or not.

But now Will has come along and I think it's safe to say that Jason is feeling a little displaced.


This is a regular occurrence. I'll be sitting down, nursing Will and suddenly the cat will jump up on us and lay directly on the baby. Will seems genuinely puzzled by this furry thing.


Jason really enjoys his new cat play area and even lets the baby use it from time to time. But only the crap toys like the blinking sun and the mirror. He saves the squeaky birds and teethers for himself.



Luckily, Will still has the swing for himself. For now.

Perhaps it's hereditary?

Why yes, that is a chip in his left hand, and he is gripping the side of the guacamole bowl. Why do you ask?

We went to Carlos Miguel's tonight for dinner. I had the Chimichanga. Micah had the chicken burrito. Will had table side guacamole.



Note: No babies were actually fed straight guacamole or chips in the taking of the picture. Well, okay, he may have sucked the tiniest amount off of his own fingers after they were on the bowl but I can't say for certain. He did however lick his lips when he saw me eating my dinner. So rest assured he got it his own special way later that night.

Great Granny

Jenny is Micah's only living Grandparent. Will is her first "official" great grandchild. I'm not sure how she feels about Lizzie in terms of family but she really, really loves her and asks about her almost every time I visit and don't bring her.

Jenny loves Will although about 90% of the time she calls him a "she" as in, "Isn't she so precious?" I don't correct her because I don't think it matters.

Today we went to visit her at the nursing home and I got some pretty decent pictures of my iPhone.

I got a lot of pictures that kinda look like this. We keep telling her to look at the camera and instead she keeps looking at the baby. He had been smiling at her and she couldn't get enough of that I guess.

"Why doesn't she have shoes?" she asked
"He keeps kicking them off." I said
She looks at me.
"She had them last time."
As a side note, I love the look on Will's face in that picture.

Why, yes, his hair IS in a mohawk. Why do you ask?


I just love this. I love seeing family and generations.

Jenny practically ripped the baby out of Micah's arms to hold him for this photo. As she was physically grabbing the baby and pulling him out of Micah's arms Micah asked her if she wanted to hold the baby. Her response was "Well if you want me to."

2 months old

Will is officially 2 months old today so he and I went to see his favorite Dr for a check up.

He weighed in at a good sized 12lbs 3 oz and is 23 inches long. His head is 39 cm.

The Dr was officially delighted with him, loved the faux hawk I had going on in his hair (which says something since Dr. Ginsburg is something like 112 years old) and says that he is developmentally on track.

Then he got some oral vaccine and then 3 shots. Which he did not like.

At all.

He fell asleep on the way home and then slept for something like 5 hours straight which made my chest a very unhappy place to be. But he's awake and has eaten so I'm feeling better now.

Also, my W2 came today. When I saw it I let out a squeal and kicked Kylie off the computer so I could FINALLY start my 2009 tax return.

I know, I'm not a healthy person. I just can't help myself.

Introduction to the Theater

For Christmas this year I got Kylie (and myself and Lizzie) tickets to the musical production to CATS! the musical by Andrew Lloyd Weber.

I saw it for the first time when I was 12 with my mom and Nana.

When Kylie was 2 she found my tapes for the music and listened to it and fell in love. My mom and Nana bought her the VHS tape of the production and she used to watch it over and over and over again. She knew every song, every movement by heart by the time she was 4.

So it was exciting for me to be able to take her to a live production and at the same time introduce Lizzie to it.

Lizzie adored it and was amazing the whole time. She didn't talk and was enthralled. Kylie noticed every time something was slightly different or an accent wasn't quite the same as on the CD's or VHS tape.

Here is a picture of Kylie, Lizzie and the person playing Jennyanydots after the show. I believe her name is Jenny Cohen.



Oh and yes, Kylie's hair is blue.

Thoughts of Haiti

As you hopefully all know by now, Haiti was rocked by a massive 7.0 earthquake yesterday leaving the nation in a state of chaos and destruction.

My prayers are with those in Haiti today as well as those relief workers and rescuers today and for what will likely be many months to come.

With that in mind, along with your prayers, if you are so inspired and able here are some ways you can help.

1) Text "HAITI" to "90999" to donate $10 to the Red Cross -- Our friends at the US State Department very quickly put together this number to channel relief contributions directly to first responders who will be on the ground there. I love that our government does things like this.

2) Text "Yele" to 501501 to donate $5 to Yele Haiti -- Wyclef Jean of Fugees fame created this foundation to permanently improve the lives of the most impoverished in his home country of Haiti. Over the years, the stories I have heard from Wyclef remind me of how hard the living is there. I am humbled by Wyclef's commitment to the region and the impact Yele Haiti has there every day. Check out more on Yele Haiti.

3) Donate to Partners in Health (click here) -- PIH is already on the ground in Haiti and mobilizing their relief efforts. Working to provide health care and education to the poorest of Haiti, PIH is the real deal.

4) Donate to charity:water (click here) -- charity:water works to bring clean water to the 1 billion people on the planet who don't have it. Recently, the organization's founder, Scott Harrison, traveled to Haiti to commence operations in that country and already thousands of Haitians have clean water to drink. As if the situation wasn't already bad enough, the need for clean water only intensifies in the aftermath of earthquakes. Every dollar of your support to these guys goes fully and immediately to work in the field.

Caught

Could some one please tell me why Jason the cat always looks like he's been "caught" doing something wrong?

When I caught him here he was half laying in the baby's carseat, desperately trying to stick his head under the baby's hand to get some petting.

The baby, he is not so good at petting animals yet.

He is good at staring at the cat though. It's his serious face.

Rough Night

So I'm standing at the second post office I've visited today, waiting to pick up a package for Kylie.

In the car I realized I hadn't brushed my hair or teeth today. Or showered.

While I'm standing there I realize I'm not wearing any socks.

Then I realize, I'm also not wearing a shirt. Only my bra and my jacket.

Luckily it was zipped up.

I have GOT to get more sleep though.

Dress Up

I'm not going to sugar coat this, it took me awhile to get okay about my last pregnancy. What helped get me through was the shopping I got to do for baby clothes. And man, did I shop. I never had a little boy to shop for so that was new and I discovered that there is more to boys clothing than sweat pants and pro football onesies.

Will is now, at 7 weeks old, well into his 3-6 month wardrobe and I am truly enjoying playing dress up with him. Sure, it's different than with the girls. The lack of pink and of course I don't get to put bows in his hair. Or if I do I don't take pictures of it. He has plenty of hair for hairbows though, just sayin'.

This morning as I was dressing him in his day wear I snapped this picture. It's screaming to me, "Hello Ladies".



Last night I took a picture of him in his rocker wear. He was passed out from all that heavy partying and late nights he likes to do.



And of course, who can forget the time I dressed him up like a reindeer. Oh wait. That was Micah.


I sure hope he forgives me when he's older.

Left, Right, Left, Right, Left

I tend to find the nature vs nurture debate fascinating, especially when it comes to child rearing. Whenever Kylie used to do something utterly insane my ex husband and I would have a joking argument about whether that action was cause by nature (i.e. my biological input) or nurture (i.e. his parenting).

I'm still convinced the really stupid stuff was all a product of nurture.

But some interesting things strike me about my children. For example Kylie's handwriting looks exactly like her birth fathers. Even though she's never seen his handwriting.
Lizzie's tongue is attached behind her back teeth, just like mine (some people call that tongue tied but I'm not sure why).

Things like that interest me. What is a product of nature and what is a product of nurture?

I, today, discovered another interesting detail about this nature business.

I think Will is left handed. Which would be unique in and of itself except that Micah is left handed. And so is Leslie, my mother in law. And so is Micah's brother Andy. So is my Aunt Linda. And now my baby boy is too, at least I think so.

You may ask what makes me think he's a leftie, after all, he's only 6 weeks old.

I present to you the following pictures. Both happened naturally with no assistance from me and both show him using his left hand.


Sorry about the poor quality, those are taken with my iPhone. And those occurred several hours apart.

But yes, Will prefers to suck his left thumb. It's possibly the cutest thing I've ever seen but then, I'm biased.

Now I just need to figure out how to teach him to write left handed.

Bittersweet

There is truly something bittersweet about sorting through and bagging up old clothes for donation. Especially when they are you maternity clothes for the last time.

During my postpartum periods with Kylie and Lizzie both I just boxed up the clothes and put them away. Yes, I kept a good bulk of my maternity clothes after Lizzie, even though Brian got a vasectomy. I just couldn't get rid of them. Guess my subconscious knew something I didn't.

This time, however, I'm certain. It's time to get rid of everything.

I had felt for a long time that I was meant to have three children. After Lizzie, after Brian had his vasectomy, I was crushed. It was like a death to me because I felt like my third child had somehow died, even though of course he hadn't been conceived.

Accidentally getting pregnant with Will cemented for me that I was meant to have three children. But that's it. Three is my limit. And Micah's too.

So these last 6 weeks have sort of been sad while I go through the laundry and find another shirt or pair of pants that won't be used, at least by me anymore. I liked my maternity clothes this time around. I finally had a professional and casual assortment for both work and home that I hadn't had before.

But finally, this part of my life is over. This baby making time. It's time for the baby growing, teenager teaching, Kindergartner playing time and not time for pregnancy time anymore.

I'll admit I'm pretty excited about that actually. Next year it'll be time for Kylie to get her drivers permit. Lizzie will go to first grade in less than a year. And Will, well, he'll be walking or close to it.

So goodbye comfy jeans and favorite green shirt. You'll be missed. But it's time for me to move on. And you too.

Say hello to the Goodwill pick up crew!

2009

Click here to view this photo book larger

Done with 2009, on with 2010

2009 is done and over with. I know a lot of people in the blogosphere are saying good riddance to bad rubbish but I am a little more fond of 2009 than they would be I suppose.

In 2009 I received the first set of roses for Valentines in my life. I also received the first chocolates for Valentines. 9 months later I had a baby. I'll get to that in a minute though.

I also turned 30. I traveled to Mexico with the man I loved and climbed a Mayan Pyramid and saw the great Mayan serpent Quetzalcoatl during the Spring Equinox (also on my birthday). I saw with Dolphins and explored ruins and loved it.

I helped my oldest daughter deal with her anxiety & depression issues. To see her blossom today is a testament to the hard work we went through in 2009.

My youngest daughter started Kindergarten and is flourishing and thriving. That happened in 2009.

I kept my job. This might not seem like a lot but we had massive layoffs this year and even HR was affected. I have a job to go back to in 2010 thankfully.

I got married! On 7/8/9 I married the best man on the planet. Well, for me anyways. Although I'm pretty sure if there is a ranking of all the men, he's in the top 5.

I had a baby. Okay so it was unexpected, I still had one. I had my first (and last) little boy and got another chance at this motherhood business. At least God has faith in me when I don't have faith in myself.

I went to two book signings. That might not seem like much but I feel that anytime I get out of the house AND get a chance to read, it's a good thing. (The authors are both blog owners as well. You can read dooce.com, author of the book It sucked and then I cried and thepioneerwoman.com author of The Pioneer Woman Cooks.) I got my books signed too, which I am proud of.

There is so much more that I am blessed for in 2009. I have an amazing family and group of awesome friends, I had a great maternity wardrobe (3rd time was the charm), and I had more pedicures in 2009 than in the entirety of life prior.

Truly, I am blessed.

It's hard to imagine 2010 being any better but here's to hoping anyways. And I hope your 2010 is amazing as well.