If Lou Lou was an Ann Geddes model.....

she'd be getting pictures with the bulldog.

I finally figured out that I have Ann Geddes to blame for my love of chubby babies.  All those glorious, rotund ones swathed in flowers or curled up in something fuzzy wearing wings. They made an indelible mark on my adolescent mind. So thanks for that Anne. Thanks for never-to-be-forgotten pictures like this:

  

 

And of course, this:

Elouise at 1 Month

Likes:
milk
sleep
smiling
seeing faces
relaxing wave tunes
watching Sawyer play
tub time
playing tickles
twirling her hands
interlocking her fingers over her chest
being swaddled snugly
the sound of running water


Dislikes:
missing naps
wearing hats
being held so she can't watch the world
riding in her car seat
dirty diapers
snowsuits
binkies

Weekend Breakfasting

As we sat around our table set with whole wheat blueberry muffins, fresh berries, yogurt, and tea cups for the adults (chamomile for me, hot chocolate for Jeff), discussing our plans for the weekend, I felt like we'd finally "made it." Our little family was breakfasting casually on the weekend.  No homework project to run off to do.  There weren't any work hours that needed to be squeaked in to beef up a time sheet. And if we wanted to laze around, we could.  Or maybe we'd like to all go out and have a family fun day. We could do that too. Some shopping, why not? Try out an indoor playground, of course! Have a regular, old, standby standard weekend....oh yes we could! Finally.

I'll take my "someday" with a whole wheat muffin and side of Greek yogurt, thank you very much.

Hello Darling Valentines

Ignore my messy house pictures in the background. We are having way too much fun to clean. I always thought that Valentine's Day's ultimate improvement would come once I had my forever valentine. But I was wrong. The ultimate is sharing Valentine's Day with your kids! Little outfits, little love notes, lovey crafts, a themed breakfast and a special fancy dinner with an extra special baked treat at the end-this is the real deal folks.

I'm giddy just anticipating adding school parties to that list. Except for maybe the check yes or check no part....these Valentines are all mine.

Call Me "Cheeks"

After Lou Lou was born and they were able to pry her away from me to do all the usual check-ups, Jeff stayed close to her and would report back to me in small snippets about all the important observations that were made.  One of my absolute favorite things he told me was, in a hushed voice, "Rach, she has jowls."

 We were then, and are still, completely in awe of this girl's cheeks.

Moving

{Sawyer boy munching on breakfast in the Denver airport security line-

that bagel started out coated in cinnamon sugar...}

Is it enough to say we moved? And be done?

Maybe if I just throw out there that we had a baby on December 19th, celebrated Christmas, packed our way through New Year's, got Jeff's official job offer, loaded our moving pods in a day, then flew out the next afternoon. Oh but we didn't get where we were going until the following day, because the airport forgot to check us in for our connecting flight, which we missed by one minute thanks to an airline delay. And it was the last flight out. So we spent the night in a hotel in Denver, without our luggage and in a major diaper emergency and finally flew safely to our new home the next afternoon. By the way, our new home is in Minnesota. It's colder here than in Alaska, hey it's even colder than Russia. It. Is. So. Cold. When our moving pods arrived a week after we did, pretty much everything was frozen and I was certain I would get frostbite from unpacking.  But let's not even talk about unpacking because that's always a drawn-out nightmare, isn't it? Suffice it to say we were pretty much camping out in our apartment-me and two small babes, all alone in the tundra-until Jeff got home at night.

So.....maybe that's enough about that.

There are so many more things that are actually pleasant to talk about, like the really solid grown-up job we were blessed to get right after Jeff graduated which kept us out of scary, unemployed limbo and launched us straight into America's middle class (we're still trying to recover from the g-force of that launch). Or how amazing that new baby is, and how spectacularly Sawyer is handling every single transition and change that has come his way.  Our little family is so amazing and in the circuitous path that life always turns out to be, I keep going to keep them going, and they, in turn, keep me going.

And here we go.
We're off on our grand, new adventure.

Sawyer's 2nd Birthday

It's one of those days that just breaks your heart.  I love to see my little boy grow and become more independent and full of words and ideas and energy. I love to get to know him better each day, and then to watch him change as he continues to learn about himself and the world. So it wasn't heartbreaking that he turned two years and left babyhood behind him, it was that he turned two and there wasn't a party with little friends running around, there wasn't a special dinner, there wasn't a birthday week that was all about his favorite things. Instead, there was a whole lot of moving and digging clothes and toys out of suitcases. He didn't mind. But I knew. And I felt terrible because I wanted to give him so much more. I wanted to celebrate the amazing little man that he's turning into and to bring some extra joy to his life because he brings me so much happiness everyday. I love my Sawyer boy. I hate to see anything about him go under-celebrated.

He blew out his candles and cheerfully chewed his candies and fish cake, and I had time to make a birthday wish myself. I wished myself to be more devoted to making his each and everyday extra special. I'll be giving him more patience, more communication, more quality playtime, more favorite foods, more opportunities for friends, more love.  Then hopefully, wishfully, despite the rocky start, he'll have the best year yet.

Bringing Home Baby

Knowing our smarty pants Sawyer, it was obvious he wasn't going to be one of those kids who lets you just sneak a new baby into his life.  Before the baby came, we talked about Elouise, showed him pictures of when he was a baby, and showed him other siblings around town. He essentially ignored us-on the outside- when we did these things, but I knew somewhere deep inside that megamind of his something was sinking in. At least I hoped.

To aid his transition from only child to sharing mama, Nana got him a baby dolly that we sewed a little blanket for and let him wrap up and burp and put to sleep.  That little baby helps him when mama is busy.  He can take care of his dolly while mama takes care of the new baby. We also got him a bringing home baby gift. We weren't convinced that Elouise would win his heart by "giving" him a gift at the hospital when he came to meet her, so we had the gift waiting at home for him as a reward (and surprise!) for being a good helper to us in bringing baby home from the hospital. We hoped it would be a pretty failure-proof idea since Sawyer loves getting packages in the mail, especially boxes, because that means he can open them with sharp things. Having something new waiting just for him helped make the moment special for him, and also redirected his attention to something positive so we had time to gush over Louie without leaving him to feel forgotten.

With all of our preparation and focus on Sawyer transitioning and Louie staying happy and safe, somehow my trophy cup got left at the hospital. I was ready to cry.  That drink mug is the ultimate "party favor," the long tall glass of water that proclaims your baby-having victory to all who see it. I waited nine long months for that mug, only to leave it behind in the rush and excitement of bringing our family of four home.

But hey, at least we didn't leave a kid behind.