Pages

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Things I Could Miss in 5 Years

Feeling the baby kick
Planning for the baby
Tiny baby clothes (so cute!)
Tiny baby feet
Tiny baby hands
Holding a tiny baby on my chest while it sleeps, even when its sort of uncomfortable
Having people be really nice because I'm pregnant or dealing with an infant
Getting to name someone
Meeting my baby, those first few moments are amazing
Watching a baby figure out how to roll over, crawl, sit up
Seeing a babies cute facial expressions as they experience the world
The second night of sleeping through the night (the first time scares the shit out of me)
Holding a baby that is only 7 or 8 pounds (vs 30)
Figuring out the secret to getting the baby to stop crying
Wrapping the baby in a towel after bath
SWADDLING!
Being identified as Mommy, not just the current person feeding the baby
First smile
Baby laughs
A happy baby
Cute little hats
Getting that baby to sleep, backing away slowly and getting to eat/shower/sleep

Don't get me wrong - I have had more than enough baby action to last me until I'm an Aunt or Grandma. I just thought I should be fair and point out that there are good things about infants.

Something to do...

sh1ft.org 31 phots in 31 days.

31 photos in 31 days in August 2010.
Take a photo of anything you like, post it to your blog, Twitter, Facebook or Flickr account, and come back each day to share your photo!
Make it an opportunity to test out a new (or old) camera, or take us on a tour of your life – just get out there and take a photo a day, every day in August.

Things I Don't Miss

Getting up at 2am and 6am for feedings (or 1:30, 3:30 and 6am)
Trying to bottle feed two babies at once

Feeding 8 times a day, or 6 times a day
Taking temperatures rectally
Sucking the snot out of noses with the bulb syringe (actually this is sorta satisfying)
Holding a baby with two hands, in constant fear that their useless necks will break
Weird poop
Discussions about weird poop (ongoing today)
Having to really check if that tiny diaper is wet
Being so tired I cry
Baby food - meat varieties
Carrying a diaper bag with: 6 diapers, wipes, bibs, baby food, spoons, puffs, 2 bottles, ice pack, 4 burp clothes, 2 changes of clothes, 4 toys, 2 pacifiers - all to go to Chick-Fil-A.
Crying that I cannot decipher
Crying that goes on for hours (Madeline)

Trimming those paper thin finger nails
That belly button stub
The smell of spit up
All that stuff that happens after giving birth "down there"

What else? - it is so easy to forget/block out these things

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Birthday Report: Gwen is FOUR!

I tell myself that I will post when I can add pictures, then never get around to it, so I will just add them later (if ever). My baby Gwendolyn is 4 years old! She had a great birthday weekend.



Saturday - birthday party day. We invited Gwen's class, teachers, neighbors, family and friends with kids her age. In the end we had about 14 kids and their parents, which was a nice turn out. We had a Princess theme, but included frogs and knights so that the boys would not be grossed out by all the pink. The kids decorated crowns and shields with stickers and jewels. John got an awesome dragon pinata that was bigger than Gwen and they stuffed it with candy the night before. The kids each got a couple turns trying to break it open, then John finally had to slay it. After that we had pizza and cake, and moved on to opening presents. 4 year old kids LOVE opening presents and watching anyone else open presents. The suspense of what is in the package is almost too much to take. There was a large pile of preschoolers on the floor and a whirlwind of tissue paper. Finally Gwen's teacher Miss. Mia took charge and got all the kids to sit down and handed Gwen the gifts one by one. Thank goodness! This is about the same time Jack and Maddy normally nap, so they were going bananas. Gwen got a lot of very nice gifts and was super excited to play right away, of course we didn't let her open anything (ha!).



After the hordes left, our babysitter helped John clean up and I got to spend some time with my cousin Michelle and her kids. Gwen and Emma played very nicely and Cody had a good time playing with Jack and Maddy's toys while they napped. Gwen spent the rest of the day opening her new toys and playing with each one.



Sunday was Gwen's actual birthday. John presented her with a new 'Snow White' bike, new helmet and safety gear. She was excited, but a little nervous to ride it. We went to lunch at Rudy's to celebrate, one of our favorite places to eat. While Jack and Maddy napped, Gwen got to open the rest of her gifts. I felt a little bad not including them, but this gave Gwen a chance to take her time and really enjoy opening her gifts without worrying about anything being touched or opened.



It was a great birthday weekend! Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate Gwendolyn's special day.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Race Report - Caleb 5k 7/17/10

I signed up for this race after realizing I was 1 month from the end of my 101 time and decided I should attempt to beat my 5k PR. Then I looked up my PR - 23:36, geez. I quickly realized there was a slim chance of improving my time by more than 30 seconds per mile, but too late. The 1st Caleb 5k in Wellsbranch started at the Shoreline church and wound its way through the neighborhood. I was hot and humid. Over 1000 people ran or walked this race, which is amazing for a first time race.
Mile 1 - awesome
Mile 2 - uh oh, feeling like I may have started out too fast
Mile 3 - up hill, really fighting to stay under 8:30 miles
last .1 - gah!
Finished with a time of 24:35! Not a PR but still awesome. First in my age group and 5th female overall. Only bummer was waiting around for the awards, they had a great band and lots of activities, but 90 minutes is a freaking long time to kill. Then they only gave out awards for the top 3 finishers by age group, not by gender so I didn't even get an award. BULLSH.

I would definitely do this race again. North, cheap and mostly organized.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Re-Post "Bring It On 101"

From 11/17/2007:

"This kicks off 101 in 1001 days - starting today 11/17/07. That gives me until 8/14/2010 to finish. By then I will be 30, nearing 31. Other than that, who knows where I'll be and what I"ll be doing. I certainly hope I get most of the list accomplished and come up with more to add to it."

This sorta makes me want to barf.

50. Store unused baby stuff until needed (clothes & toys)

HAHA! Until needed?!?! I will NOT need any of it again - no no no. My sister-in-law is pregnant with a wee baby boy, so she is getting a load of boy clothes. John has been selling all the big items on Craig's List, but we still have a lot to get rid of. I finally cleaned out Gwen's closet and packed up the clothes that Maddy will be wearing next year. And what Maddy is outgrown goes directly to Brooke Cox while she can still wear it. We keep trying to move the baby toys out, but the kids find them and manage to distribute all the pieces so it takes weeks to put it all in hiding again.

Dodging a Bullet

It is really sad that when I hear someone puking I just think "I'm so glad it isn't one of the kids". Sorry John!