The joys of mommyhood

For the most part, this parenting thing is very rewarding. It ticks all the boxes for "you get way more than you give". When Lucy sees me for the first time in a while, be it first thing in the morning, coming home from day care, or when I come downstairs after a moment in the loo, she lights up and either reaches for me or now that she can, runs to me. The "I'm the greatest thing in the whole world" meter ticks pretty high at those times. Sure, it's a bit narcissistic, I'm aware that a dog who is beat frequently will continue to love and adore his master, but this isn't the same kind of relationship. I seldom make Lucy sleep outside or beat her with a stick. She gets all the fresh water she wants and a 1/2 cup of crunchy food in the morning. She's a happy girl.

I wont fall!

Actually, there are numerous things she does that are adorable and bring me joy. Small things such as when she's done with her milk it is important that she (and only she) put the lid to the bottle back on. She does NOT want help. She has embraced the art of 'kissing' and while she blows kisses to all the teachers and classmates at school, she saves the special kisses for Mommy and Daddy. These kisses are mouth kisses, but she leans in with her mouth open and makes contact while saying "aahhhh". We are working on teaching her to kiss with her mouth closed, but every now and then it is my treat to take a milky, open mouthed kiss from my little peanut. She dances, but doesn't shake her booty just yet. Thus far, when the music moves her it is a head shaking and arm twisting joy. I think the booty moving will come when she's more solid on her feet. Speaking of... as she's zipping around the house on her two feet there are times when her center of gravity gets out of alignment and she will make every wild move to avoid falling over. Every now and then we catch her in a I'm-not-falling-off-this-balance-beam arm flail that makes us giggle.

Her love affair with the stairs is waning, but that just means we have to be on high alert. Our original idea of keeping she play world limited to the kitchen/family room area was not an achievable (dare I say a delusional) idea, Lucy is everywhere in the downstairs and we spend our weekends and evenings in a constant two person parade around the house. We take turns with her while the other parent does fun things like make food, clean up food, and other life chores. Laundry happens during the week while Jason & Lucy are away. That perk is reason enough for me not to change jobs. I can see how people who work outside the home and have one or more little people have piles of laundry in various stages of completeness.
Lucy's other 'cute' trick these days is a fascination with any gadget with buttons. The little cd/radio player in her room is an amazing toy. This little 7 inch square cube has no less than 20 buttons that she can click, click, click. This morning she somehow set a snooze alarm that nearly caused my heart to stop when it finally went off. The alarm was so loud that it sounded like the walls were shaking. I know someday she will set the thing to go off at three in the morning and we'll go crazy trying to figure out what it is. As buttoned items go, the tv remote use to be the #1 coveted toy, but the iPhone is now the top 'want!'. This brings me to the ugly truth about parenting.

Kids are jerks.


I didn't make that up, Christopher Walken said it in his interpretation of the classic story "Where the Wild Things Are." He also said 'kids like George Wendt', but that didn't resonate with me as much as the declaration that 'kids are jerks.'

Lucy expresses her jerkiness in lots of special ways. Her inability to cope when things don't go her way is a small sign of this fact. I will do something horrible such as not give her the phone, not let her walk in the middle of the street or change her diaper after she's made a 'boom boom' (that's grandpa's term) and she will hop up and down, cry, with actual tears and hit a pitch with her voice that moves the water in my inner ear to the point that I'll have to lay down to get my balance back. Other tricks include slapping, and the oh so cute body flop and kick. I've read that all kids go through this and we are working on "identifying our feelings" so that when she CAN talk she can calmly say "damn it mama, I want the remote or I'm going to feel angry." We are very much working on making it clear that slapping and grabbing are not ok, but unlike a four year old these are lessons (for Jas & I) in being consistent, firm and calm.

She's not a possessed child (all the time.) We have figured out that most often when she's acting up something else is wrong, and it usually can be remedied with sleep. However, those moments of wickedness on her part wear on a person. I can see where parents with out other coping skills (aka GIN) can forget themselves and respond to the toddler temper tantrum in like fashion. I'm aware that these frustrations will lighten up and then be replaced by some other trauma like having to eat peas when pizza is wanted. The naming of feelings feels a little bit like parental mumbo jumbo, but when she's able to express the difference between mad, scared and hurt it will make calming down a bit easier.

The things that Lucy wigs out about seem to change daily, but then so does her world. This morning she was pissed that I wouldn't give her my coffee cup, but then she also explored the upstairs bedroom, closet, bathroom loop on her own for the first time. (This reminds me honey, we MUST put the cupboard door safety locks on the cabinet in the laundry room this weekend. She doesn't know those cabinets are there yet, but she'll find them and all the cleaning stuff is in there.) We were able to do our morning routine with her doing laps. Well, my modified morning routine anyway. I use to shower in the morning and do my hair - now, i shower at night and if I'm lucky I get to wet my head down to do my hair, but more often than not...ponytail. I can see why after having three hundred children Kate Gosselin opted to chop of the ponytail to save herself some time in the morning.

Sure it looks stupid, but it's not a mommytail!

Back to our story,  every day is something new and the 'good crap, she's a jerk' moments are fewer than the 'oh, I have the sweetest baby in the whole world' moments.  Both are probably a slight exaggeration.  Also, I've met some of your children and they are also sweet angels who are above acting up because you don't happen to have seedless jam on hand, so don't go all crazy on me any say that I'm disparaging YOUR child.  I'm only speaking a truth that few parents will admit.  It is a GOOD thing we love these little beasts because there are times when a kennel could come in handy.

Sprinkler Time

More

playland

Playing @ Kids Corner

Walking and Talking

Lucy was so proud of herself Sunday when she was taking independent steps all over our living room. She's tentative on the hardwood floors and that is FINE BY ME. Let's let her fall on the soft carpet before we go into head bonking territory.

Our living room is void of most of the things that make walking a challenge, like toys and furniture. We had our carpets cleaned Monday, so Sunday afternoon the family room was perfect for a new walker who needs lots of space.

The amazing thing is that not only was she getting up on her own to walk, but she felt the need to carry her water with her too. I would think that mastering the art of walking would be easier if your weren't carrying something, but this is yet another lesson in the fact that Lucy is her own person.

This little video only shows a few steps (and only for the last few seconds of the movie) but it's a fun one.

Super cool right!

We have already noticed that she is very aware of all the spaces in the house. She loves to go upstairs - mostly it is fun to get up the stairs and close the gate at the top. Once we're up there it is kind of lame in that there are fewer toys. She loves to "carry" things for me. This is usually an envelope or a sock, but getting up the stairs and ensuring that the important item gets there too is a lot of fun. More often than not she has to stop at the landing halfway up the stairs and take a little rest, but then she motors on her way.

On the tooth front, she's up to nine now. One of the bottom molars is IN. We haven't seen the counterpart on the left side of her mouth, but her cranky attitude tells me it is coming. My usually sunny girl has taken a turn towards the pissy from time to time. Her lack of words must be frustrating, and I bet she'll be happier when she can tell us what she thinks she MUST HAVE. That list often includes things that she may not have like the remote, knives, fire, blow torches and acid. Lucy will simply have to learn from these disappointments. Although, this morning she did get one of the magical items, no not the blow torch, the remote. The joke was on her because the first button she touched made the magic box turn off. We are violating the recommended advice and letting her watch the Baby channel in the morning as we get dressed. She's learning terrible things like the american sign language sign for "socks" and "play".

At school, Lucy has fully transitioned into the Toddler Room and even received a diploma for graduating from the Infant Room. She seems happy with the older kids and the issue of naps has been (forgive the pun) put to rest. When they entire class lays down and is quiet she does the same thing. They play harder in the Toddler room and have direct access to the outside and Lucy is in heaven. She is keeping up with the master walkers and it is my guess that words will becoming very soon. I expect to hear "mine" and "no!" in short order. However, I am told that Lucy does a very nice job of sharing. She's also empathetic to others. One of her last acts in the Infant Room was to come to the aid of one of the babies who had lost her pacifier and was crying. Lucy zipped over there, picked it up and put it in the babies mouth. WOW.

Speaking of pacifiers, we have made our downstairs a pacifier free zone and are limiting use to naps and bed time. This isn't to say we're perfect - she sat with us in church Sunday and we did use it as a silencer during the sermon. Soon we'll simply leave her in the nursery and enjoy an hour of Jason and Terri time. She loves the music so much that it is fun to see her get her "axle rose" on when the band plays, but keeping her happy makes it hard to focus on the talking, and we are there to hear the talking.

First steps!!!

fictionary (borrowed)

Borrowed from one of Jason's co-workers.

Ginja:  The red headed ninja



clearly, not a new concept to anyone but me.  Thank you http://gorillagraphics-gavin.blogspot.com for letting me borrow the awesome image.  (I have maybe 6 readers so I doubt I'm boosting the awareness of your cool graphics too much.)

Lucy, the furniture mover

She's starting to get a real handle on the walking thing, but likes the assistance of a steady hand or if we're being mean furniture will do.  Moving around the coffee table isn't enough anymore, so she'll use smaller more mobile furniture to get her where she wants to go.

Fictionary

Va-dazzle: the sparkly diamonds attached to your lady bits.

The Tooth Fairy

  

 We are still at the baby teeth arrival stage, but one of the things I'm looking forward to is the return of the Tooth Fairy.

The back story on poor Haylee's situation is that her parents forgot about the tooth and when they finally remembered the mom found this note under her pillow.  I have to say that I love it.  Sure, a four day delay on payment for a dead tooth is a tiny problem to have, but when you're between the ages of 5 and 8 (ages provided by the Mayo Clinic via Google) the delay feels significant.

I remember being amazed at how I couldn't catch the Tooth Fairy no matter how hard I tried and one time, my tooth was in a glass on the window ledge in our kitchen and she made the switch in BROAD DAYLIGHT.  One minute the tooth was there, I stepped into the other room for a minute, returned and BAM the tooth was gone!  In it's place was a 50 cent piece.   My little mind was totally blown.    This was about the time that I made a not so wise investment in the Washington Public Power Supply System, like my investment in Washington Mutual Bank it was a sad lesson in financial mismanagement.  I may be pretty, but it seems I'm a bit naive.

Back to our point, as Lucy morphs from the sweet baby blob to a fully functioning toddler it is easier to see her as the little girl who will zip up and down the stairs, take 'swims' in our big bathtub and who will write letters to Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy.

For the record, the incoming tooth count to date is eight.  Lucy has her top and bottom central incisors (front teeth), her top lateral incisor (those two cute teeth that sit next to the top teeth) and the top first molars.  Per the chart from the handsome dentist Dr. Otto (whoops, did I say 'handsome', I meant to say 'capable') Lucy's teeth are popping in right on time and more importantly, in the right order.  See, she IS a genius.

I have been assured that Miss Haylee's situation has been resolved and that her payment demands have been met.  Let's hope that the Tooth Fairy assigned to Lucy's case is more diligent about timely payments.

A dance from the luau

Oh yes, that is Jason picking up the all important leaf of peace.

Maui Recap

We arrived on a windy day, but the temperature was pleasant and in spite of the Red flags on the shore alerting us to high surf we quickly hopped into the ocean for an inaugural dip.   We weren't in much danger with our water activities, which mostly included hoping waves and some light swimming.  Had we been attempting to snorkle around the reef that was a few yards into the bay, then it would have been an issue.  Later in the week when we ventured out we realized that the coral at some points is only about 1 -2 feet under water and swimming over it in rough waters would be extremely dangerous.

We stopped at Costco after picking up our rental car and purchased supplies for the week.  By supplies you know I mean wine and the required jug of Trader Vic's Mai Tai.  Sadly, we ended up having to return some of the wine as we were not as 'winey' as we thought we would be.

Our days mostly started out with breakfast, either at the Gazebo restaurant next door or at home with leftovers from the Gazebo restaurant next door.  This was a popular place that opened at 7:30 am, and the line started to form at 7:00.  We foolishly arrived at 7:20 and were in the second round of seating.  The wait, however, was worth it!  Macadamia nut pancakes with a coconut whipped cream topping.   (DROOL)  We also ordered their house breakfast fried rice.  HOLY GUACAMOLE, this is a tasty treat.  Along with fresh onions and peppers this rice is chock full of bacon, ham and sausage.  It was a mouth watering savory companion to the fluffy but sweet pancakes.   The serving was huge and thus there was enough for us to have it for breakfast the following day and if we had been super frugal the day after that.

The blow hole

We did a few road trips, the first was to the Maui Blow Hole.  The  rental car road map stated that there were parts of the island that we weren't allowed to drive, but they didn't give actual mile markers.  I'm a nervous nelly and assumed we were in the "red zone" the minute the road switched from a four lane to a narrow 2 lane.  The drive to the blow hole was easy and my anxiety was for nothing.  This isn't a park or a sight that is marked with signs. We drove until we saw where all the cars were pulled over and decided to get out an see.  Sure enough, over the bluff there it was.    When the lava cooled, I'm guessing a few weeks ago, a tunnel was formed and when the surf crashes in a rather impressive spout of water shoots out.

We decided to hike down the "trail" to get a better view.  It is not a state park with any kind of maintained walkway, but we saw moms with kids and older folks making their way back up, so we thought we could do it.  If you are not sure footed, or can't chew gum and walk at the same time, this is not a hike for you.  The human brain is working overtime with each step, focusing on balance, the next step, which rock looks the most secure and how not to fall on your ass takes some effort.   

Our beach, Napili Bay

Hand painted signs inform you that you should not venture to the wet rocks and NOT down to the flat surface where the blow hole is.  Recently, some Darwin Award Winner went in for a better photo op and got sucked in.  The news stories didn't say if his body was recovered, but I would hope for his family that what goes in, goes out.

Anywho... we didn't go that far.  We hiked down to about two thirds of the way to where we could get good photos and then stopped.  Our big camera earned her place in our home with some great shots.

Another day, we decided to drive some of the way to Hana.  That is a fun drive, but not one for a passive driver.  It took us about 3 hours to go 30 miles.  Its faster on the way back because we didn't have to stop and take pictures along the way back.  The road is VERY twisty and narrow.  There are lots of one lane bridges and for the most part people were considerate.  A couple times we had to get the hell out of the way of a tour bus and a VERY large delivery truck.    We also had to dodge an asshole whose hug the wall skills sucked.  No matter, it was a beautiful drive and we stopped at a lovely place and had our boxed lunch that we picked up in Paia.    We didn't make it all the way to Hana, but we weren't trying to get there.  The guidebook says the trip IS the destination, and we wanted to get back in time for a good dinner.  Since it was our vacation and we were in agreement it was a perfect outing.

windy, but happy

I booked us into the Four Winds II, a catamaran day-trip to the tiny island of Molokini.  This little horseshoe is a sanctuary and walking on or even touching the island is prohibited.  The boats come and moor on the inside of the crater and the happy (mostly pasty white) tourists tumble into the sea to snorkel.  The trip was worth the cost, but not for the snorkeling.  We enjoyed meeting the very friendly crew, other vacationers and the open sea.  We saw some whales (but not at close range) and the sea life at the crater was nice, but we had more colorful fish at our little bay by the condo.   Also, we saw a LARGE turtle at our bay as well - that was amazing and very exciting.

The boat trip day was a lot of fun, but because we started so early, launched at 7:00 am, the cool icy wine that started to flow at 10am didn't seem so wrong.  Turns out... Terri drank all day and half way though the movie we rented for the evening (and the entire bottle of red wine that "we" opened and "I" drank) I went to bed to watch something else and Jason said when he came to bed he watched about an hour of tv and I didn't move at all.  He said he did a breath check to see if I was alive, but clearly my day was OVER.   The next morning, Terri not feel so good.  (sad face)  I think I had a mai tai with dinner that night, but it was a water day.  Whoops.

Our other beach excursion day was to a bay we saw on our way to the blow hole.  This cove had actual stairs down to the ocean and a nice flat beach.  The beach at the condo was great for swimming and snorkeling, but had a wicked pitch that made hanging out ocean side a bit iffy.  This little beach was protected from the wind and nicely flat.  In fact, unlike our beach that dropped off to about 6-10 feet deep at about four feet from shore, this beach was shallow for yards and yards off shore.  The surf was great for body surfing and we think it would be a nice place for kids to play.  (We're already talking about when to come back with a larger crew, including the Peanut.)

At the luau

Our night time activities included dinners out at multiple beach side places and an evening at a luau.  I think the luau is a required activity and the one we (I) chose was a winner.  Somehow we were seated in the front row which gave us an unencumbered view of the pretty dancers.  The different thing about this luau vs. the other shows is that they had four shows, each from a different pacific island region, Hawaii, New Zealand, Samoa and Tahiti.  Each dinner course was from the featured region and the dances were native to that area as well. 

We did cook "in" one night and our rib eye and tater tot meal was superb.  We had to gift our second rib eye to the leathery couple downstairs on our last night, but we always had the option to eat it. 

Lucy was never far from our minds and about mid-day Thursday I was aching to go home.  Friday was rough because my desire to be home was in over drive and my vacation is ending sadness was happening at the same time.  We kept ourselves busy and made sure to savor our last day.

I give us an A+ for packing in lots of fun activities, but not over doing it.    We tried the Shave Ice (a glorified snow cone) and loved the one at the shop where she made her own syrups. 

We get a B- for escaping the tourist shopping enclaves.  We are returning home with t-shirts and a loud hawaiian shirt for Jason, a semi-loud hawaiian dress for me and a pink and yellow floral beachy dress for Lucy.  I picked up a snorkel set (fins, mask and breathing tube) from Costco - which was a great buy.  Jason opted to upgrade his breathing tube that was purchased in the 1990's and his price point was the same as my entire kit.  His goggles are made with his prescription, so that the love of my life who is blind as a bat can see the fishies, therefore he only needed an upgraded snorkel tube. 

I give us a C- for staying up late, the three hour time difference is rough.  I was thankful for the days we 'slept in' until 6:00 am.  We got some wonderful uninterrupted sleep and the time zone is NOTHING to complain about.

We get an A+ for sun management.  We are a pretty brown, without any burns or scally skin.  My self tanner with sun screen helps that a lot, but we both started out WHITE and are returning home with a healthy start on the summer glow. 

Vacationing without Lucy was good and bad.  Every time I saw a family with a "Lucy"  I felt pangs in my heart, but I know that for the 20% of the time that she would have been happy 80% of the other time she, or we would have been miserable.   Grandma and Grandpa did a great job and other than some strange 4:30 am wake ups she was fine. 

We get in tonight at 8:00 pm and she'll already be in bed, but I'm sort of hoping for a middle of the night wake up so I can get my hands on my girl.  This mothering thing is bigger than I thought it would be. 

We will certainly invoke the grandparents again for future vacations, but I can wait. 

Talk with you soon. Mahalo

Missing my girl.

Today's Maui Picture

Ah....Maui

a silly video from a few weeks ago

Sunset & The view from our balcony

Good Morning from Maui

It was a long day yesterday, getting up at 4:00 am and then finally giving up the dream of staying up until 10:00 pm Hawaii time (which would have been 1:00am home time.) Lucy who, like the family dog senses that something is up when the luggage is pulled out, was up at 4:00 am to visit with us before we left. I will share that it was rough leaving our Peanut. She is in excellent hands and was (mildly) happy when we zipped out the door. She's been on our minds and in our conversations, which only means that we're parents who like and miss their kid.

 Our flight was nice, and rather uneventful. That's a good thing for a flight where you need to pay attention to where the life rafts are. Our flight attendant, Donny, looks like he spends a LOT of time in the sun in the Hawaiian Islands. To suggest he was leathery would be going lightly.

We explored the tiny town near the airport, at lunch at "THE" sports bar. Then we did what all people do on a Saturday regardless of where they are. COSTCO! We picked up steak, cheese, chips, wine and Trader Vic's Mai Tai's. Then we started our drive across the island to our condo.

Maui is actually quite small, and in less than an hour (mostly because of a 35 mile per hour speed limit) we were pulling into our condo. It was fun to drive through the valley then around the south side of the island to see all the people at all the beaches. We got oriented and even found the grocery store nearest our home base. Our condo unit is the end unit closest to the ocean and the view is amazing. We have a large lanai off the living room, that all the condos have, but because we don't have a neighbor on the ocean side we also have mini-balconies along the west side of the condo. We slept with the windows open and were lulled to sleep by a)being extremely tired after our 20 hour day and the sounds of the waves.

 We awoke this morning at 4:00am local time and are now, at 6:00 am enjoying coffee, Love's Bakery donut holes and planning our day. I know there will be more time in the ocean, the bay that we're on is good for swimming and we will go explore Lahaina today. Our goal is to find a place to have dinner and stay up until 10:00pm tonight.

The condo is well appointed, the bed is comfortable, but the coffee maker, Mr. Coffee, sizzles and crackles as if there is a leak in the pot. It sounds a lot like cooking bacon. BACON! That is on our agenda at 7:30 when the breakfast place next door opens up.

Maui, Mommy & Morning Sickness

DON'T FREAK OUT... WE ARE NOT HAVING ANOTHER BABY.

Morning sickness refers to our girl.  Wednesday, I got a call from "school" at 3:00pm saying that Lucy was sick.  When this has happened in the past the "sickness" has been mostly hooey - a cranky girl who REALLY needed to nap, or a not nice, but not medically concerning diaper rash.  However, when they call, I go.

When I arrived, she was not wearing the super cute outfit from the morning and when I looked in her cubby there were not one, but two bundles of her clothes in plastic bags.  She seemed perky and happy.  I noticed that the schools 'mega stroller' (this thing holds 8 kids!) was outside and one of the teachers was wiping up "stuff" from two stations.  Apparently, Mason got sick in the morning and was sent home, but whatever he had going on in his sad tummy had already been shared with Lucy and one other classmate.

They took the kids to the park in the mega stroller without knowing that the bug had spread.  They knew pretty quickly once the kids starting giving back their lunches.  That must have been one sad and stressful walk back to the school.

As I said, Lucy looked fine.  She wasn't hot or cranky.  However, halfway between school and our house (it's less than 2 miles) she threw up in the car seat.  Poor little peanut, she was strapped in an it was a big throw up. I pulled over to run back to "help".  I didn't really have much to offer other than kind words and to help her lean forward.  I guess it's the mommy equivalent of holding her hair back while she threw up.

Once we got home I we took a quick bath, changed into pj's and then made our way downstairs onto a cozy (yet easily washable) quilt.  Lucy then threw up every 15 minutes for about 3 hours.  It was sad and we were both a stinky mess by the time dad got home.  She was super tired, so we gave her a second bath and an new clean set of pj's.  She went to sleep without any fuss.  I popped into her room about every 20 minutes to make sure she was sleeping on her side or at least not face up.  I had fears of her throwing up in her sleep and not having the awareness to spit it out.

Lucky us, she slept like a champ and woke up hungry and in a good mood.  Banned from school I had to take the day off and with a kid who didn't act sick we had a play day.  I did have to cancel my long planned, pre-vacation hair cut and color, but I suppose these are the things that we do for our kids.  Lucy woke up early and in spite of not acting sick, took a two hour nap at 7:30 am.  Later, after some food and a snuggle we packed up for a trip to Costco and then Safeway.  (My overly ambitious plan was Costco, Ulta, Target and Safeway, but that didn't work out.)  That afternoon, after a regular food lunch, Miss Lucy napped for another two hours. She was happy and her tummy was quite calm.

Back to school she went yesterday.  Mason was there but his mom restricted his diet to crackers and juice.  Holy heck mom, aren't you aware that your kid is an EATER?  He's a sweet boy, but he would eat from the time he woke up until he fell asleep if you would let him.  He has no "full" button.  (Lucy has one and it looks like "hey I'm done here, so I'm putting the rest of this onto the floor.")  So, with Lucy back on a regular diet, her breakfast of fruit and bagels were pure torture for Mason.  He stood at the high chair and practically begged for food.

Lucy did seem tired yesterday and didn't nap well at school.  She had a yummy dinner of chicken, orange peppers, strawberries and some string cheese and then took a quick bath and off to bed.   It was only 5:20 and we knew it meant that she'd be up early today (5:11am) but keeping her up just so we can sleep in until 6 is not ok.

Over night, she made NO noise.  She seemed to be sleeping like normal.  However at 5:00 am I heard her fussing (not crying) I went to get her and immediately upon opening the door could tell something was really wrong.  Sometime during the night she had thrown up her dinner and instead of crying for help, she went back to sleep and it was everywhere.  I felt so bad, because it smelled terrible, she must have been uncomfortable with it on her pj's and in her hair.

Since John & Susie are here, we opted to keep her home from school today and we are nursing a happy kid with a sensitive tummy.  She only wants to drink milk which could be an issue, but at least it's liquid. She's on a diet of toast, pears, apple sauce, and bananas.  She took a nap this morning and I'm confident we'll get another one this afternoon.     Having extra help is great because I can still nurture her and they are having fun playing with her.

We leave for Maui tomorrow morning and I am of course conflicted about leaving behind a child that is not 100% well, but she is in excellent hands.  The time they are spending together today (with me popping in and out) will make for a smooth transition.  Leaving her here is far less stressful than if we knew she was not feeling well and we were going to try to take her with us tomorrow.  The idea of a mildly sick kid on a five hour flight curls my toes, and not in a good way.

We are packed and checked in.  I am VERY excited about the trip and looking forward to the "idea" of sleeping in.  It won't happen because we are programmed to be up at 6am, but at least we'll be waking up to the sounds of the ocean and not a much loved but early riser baby.

Stair Climber

This one was a few weeks earlier

Easter Weekend

Loving the new swing at Grammys.

I love a long weekend!  We ventured over to Eastern Washington to visit with the grandparents.  Grammy Georgia hung a swing in the back yard and while tentative at fist, Lucy quickly decided it was a good thing. 

Hanging in the hammock

My loves

 We spent a good amount of time outside, which Lucy loves.  She wasn't too sure about the hammock, but we managed a cute photo, so for all anyone knows she thought it was great.

Lucy cemented her "un-invitation" to Maui by not sleeping well in our shared hotel room.  At one point, Jason forgot where he was and asked me if I turned her monitor up to full blast.  "No I didn't, she's in the same room with us."  Whoops.  She was up from 1:30 to 4:00 am.  The upside was that she slept the entire car ride home.  It was the ugly sleep too, her mouth was slack and she actually snored.   Thankfully, she perked up for some playtime, dinner and a bath, then slept like a champion that night.  Still, she made me feel even better about leaving her at home while we head to the tropics for a week.

Speaking of, the Denver grandparents arrive tomorrow evening, so we are in house cleaning mode.  Yes, we just had a house full of company, but that was a long weekend, it wasn't people living in our house and searching for things they need.  There's a different level of clean required for that.

I think Jason is worried because I have a large pile at the top of the stairs and it seems to be getting worse, but my strategy is to stage stuff in a common location and then dispose of it all at once.   The house looks horrible and then all at once, it looks put together.  That's my hope anyway.

Right now, the guest bed is covered in my Maui gear, shorts, tops, swim suits, dresses, and shoes... lots and lots of shoes.  Since our guests arrive tomorrow, tonight is "Pack Night".

Shades!

"hunting" for Easter eggs

She isn't looking, therefore it is mine!

This is a great day!!!

Opening Easter gifts.  The paper is amazing

Flirting at bath time

Weekend Recap

I did win money in the huge Mega Millions lottery.  I scanned my ticket this morning and the report came up that I'm a $2.00 winner.  I told Jason and he asked for $1.  As Washington is a community property state, I guess I have no choice but to share. It kills me to give up half of my winnings, but honestly, he's worth it.

My Smart GuyFriday, we got word that Jason passed his certification exam for the new technology platform he attended training on.  There were six people in his class and of the five that took the test earlier, only one passed.  He had to wait a week to take his exam (due to some crisis at work) and the results from his co-workers was making him nervous.   He applied that energy into studying and taking the practice tests and not only did he pass, but he did so with a very good score.  Way to go!

Happy Anniversary
Saturday, we strapped the kid into the safety seat and drove to Shelton to attend the 50th Wedding Anniversary party for some old friends. . Shelton is a small, logging town about 30 minutes outside of Olympia, and it's kind of on the way to the strange land where the Twilight Vampires live.  I did expect sparkly people to pop out of the woods from time to time.

The party was nice, but other than the happy couple we didn't know anyone.  There were people there that knew my parents, but the host was bad at introductions and would introduce us at "Art's daughter" but didn't offer the other persons name.  I did have a conversation with a gal who went to high school with my dad and his sister, but it was a short conversation.

Also, while sitting on the couch I found pin in the cushion.  Clearly, the lady or lord of the house is a sewer and crafts on the couch.  From that moment on my comfort level for letting Lucy roam on the furniture dropped to zero.  I'm sure I looked like a crazy person patting the furniture and picking at the cushions, but I couldn't get the memory of all the pins that would be everywhere in Aunt Evelyns furniture. on her floor, or when she'd leave my house after a visit.  She was not baby compatible.

The groom, Mike seemed smaller than I remember.  Granted I was wearing tall shoes, but for the first time ever he sort of felt old.  He seemed pleased to see us and I'm glad we went.  I had forgotten how he calls his wife "Mother".  Listen up boys, referring to your wife as Mother is creepy and wrong.  Jason calls me "mama" from time to time, but he does it when he's speaking on behalf of Lucy.  "Mama, can you get me a clean pair of pants?"  It is not "Mama, where would you like to have dinner tonight?" or "Mama, wanna make out?"  ICK

We stayed at the party for about an hour and then used Lucy as an excuse to move on home.  We decided not to backtrack and drove up the peninsula to Bremerton and took the ferry across to Seattle.  Our GPS decided we wanted to take the Southworth / Vashon ferry and we didn't figure out the mistake until we were at the Southworth exit off Highway 16.  It was 4:05 and we were hoping to make the 4:15 ferry.  I knew we wouldn't make it and would have to make Lucy suffer through an hour wait at the ferry terminal.  Thank goodness for Jason because he has faith.  We paid the toll at 4:13 and were the 3rd to the last car on the ferry.   Lucy was happy to be home and even managed to stay up and play until almost 6:45 pm.  (party girl!)

Sunday, Cranky Sunday
What is it about a kid who stays up "late" that feels the need to wake up early?  Our night owl from the night before woke up to start her day at 5:45 Sunday morning.  (Today, Monday, she had to be woken up at 7:00 am!)   We don't stay up late unless we have plans, which is a good thing, because even with a 10:00 pm bedtime, 5:45 am on Sunday feels early.

I'm not touching you!

With such an early waking we had time to make breakfast and have a leisurely morning.  In spite of the cup of good coffee and the excellent peanut butter toast I was cranky yesterday morning.  I was irritated at my most excellent spouse and knew it was borderline irrational, so I tried to keep it to myself.  However, in my state of spitefulness I picked up my own breakfast dishes and put them in the dishwasher, but did not touch his plate.  I wondered how long he would let it sit on the table before he did anything with it.  I finally put it away, while he was making dinner.  You can't be irritated at someone for their failure to pick up after themselves when you a) leave shit everywhere too and b) they are making you dinner.

My attitude adjustment came far later in the day, so during church I was still cranky and not at all happy with the discovery that it was Palm Sunday.  Now, as a day Palm Sunday doesn't piss me off, but they give out palm fronds and the kids (Jason and Eric) can not help themselves by using it to poke their neighbors.  To be fair, Jason didn't actually poke me in the face with the fond, but somehow being poked and having the thing .25 centimeters from your face feel like the same things.

After church, we headed home for a two hour nap for little Miss 5:45 is Awesome!  Jason did some work and I watched tv and sulked.

 We ventured out in the afternoon to the outlets in Woodinville.  The Hanna Andersson store does wonders for my mood.  The kid clothes are happy and bring summer into my world.  I hope Lucy likes girly stuff because I think it's the cutest.

Eddie Bauer had some nice finds too, including a very casual, but pretty summer dress for me and a pair of shorts I would not have purchased had they not been 50% off.  I was not at all pleased to discover after we left Woodinville that the clerk did not actually give me the 50% off for the shorts.  Grumble.   Rather than head back to Woodinville, we're going to stop at the outlet store in North Bend on our way to visit the Granger Grandparents and if they can't make the price adjustment I'll simply return the darned shorts.  Grumble.

All these minor irritations were nothing compared to how bad I felt for Lucy.  She had a "poop situation" or rather "I need to go and can't" situation.  Poor little bug worked on her problem all day and it was horrible to not be able to help her.  We loaded her up on juice (prune) and fruit as well as water but I think we may have just been adding pressure to the backlog (sorry for that imagery.)  Finally, at 5:30 she worked something out and it was clear she felt a lot better.  I warned the day care teachers that she might be extra poopy today but thankfully they haven't called to say "come get your angry, pooping child."

 What I find ironic is that she has one teacher that makes it seem like Lucy is the only child who "goes" a lot at school.  "Oh, every diaper, is poopy."  Where as, I know for a fact that everybody poops.  I read a book once.   I guess I shouldn't feel judged when Lucy goes on a regular basis, it is far worse when she doesn't, as that's when I know that her diet is off.

By bedtime I had shaken off my dark cloud and went to bed with a sunny attitude.  One of the frustrating things about a bad mood is that it seems to cascade; my ability to roll with normal minor issues is diminished and I'm not the person I want to be.  Thankfully, that was yesterday, today I am very much back to normal.  In fact, when I cut a hole in my shirt while removing tags from the pretty Hanna Andersson clothes I didn't even cry or curse.  The other good thing... only 13 sleeps until we leave for Maui.

Maui!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy 50th!

Fictionary

Defensive manure : the poop you make in your pants when you have to swerve to save yourself from a bad driver.  

Hoppy Easter

Making Plans

We're being told that the odds are better that I'll become a Saint than actually winning the Mega Millions lottery tonight.  I don't think "they" know how I could NEVER be a Saint, so the odds of the lottery win are actually in my favor.

Regardless of the minuscule chances of winning, it's been a fun 24 hours thinking about what we would do with the money.  After a quick search online at premier homes for sale it became clear that we'd "need" to build a custom home to meet our selfish wants.  A soundproof media room for the kids (Jason & the man friends) and a craft room for me.  I'm envisioning white built-in cabinets to store my gift wrapping stuff, a solid surface island for all the macaroni crafts Lucy and I will be making and a place for my sewing machine to live where it can be at the ready (maybe on a table that pulls out from the wall so it can be tucked away for clean lines in the room (like an appliance garage).  Our needs are simple and we're probably thinking really small, but we're simple people.

Then the next dilemma is built the house big enough so the grandparents can move in and live with us, or build tiny in-law cabins on the "compound" so they can be close when they want, but we can still carry on with Naked Tuesdays like normal.  I'm guessing, once they come to grips with the fact that Naked Tuesday is a reality that they'll opt for their own private space.  If Naked Tuesdays isn't happening now, it will happen after the option of all those people living with us is a possibility.

As for charity work, do we start your own foundation or set aside money and dole it out to the charities we're already supporting?  It would be really fun to write some big checks to the charities we're supporting now.  I'm sure the Domestic Violence Prevention group that my classmates started last year would be super excited for a whopper donation, because they are over the moon for everything over $100.   There would certainly have to be a plan as I'm sure the requests for help from genuinely needy souls would be coming at you, and I'm not good at "no".

The other thing about being wildly rich would be the creative theme parties we could throw.  Right now I'm thinking that a "Hunger Games" themed party would be a hoot.  Maybe the guests wouldn't have to actually kill each other, but physical challenges in the woods would be great fun to watch.  I guess it all depends on who we invite over.  That boy from high school who broke my heart, he should be wary of an invitation to a "high school reunion" at my place.

Over breakfast this morning, Jason said that we'd have to extend our upcoming Maui vacation and fly the grandparents and Lucy over to join us (that includes you too Mom... chill out.) but I am so ready for a solo (Jason and I) vacation that the first thing out of my mouth was -"they can come, but AFTER we get a week to ourselves!"  That's when I got the "chill out" look from my beloved.



It would be a "big ask" to ask the grandparents to endure the five hour flight with the Lucy, but we'd put them in first class to ease their discomfort.  After a cocktail or two Lucy is very compliant.  I bet the flight attendants would be all "judgey" about feeding cocktails to the one year old - whatever.

Until tomorrow morning these plans are a fun distraction.  In the meantime, today is the day the sheets get washed and unless I'm super confident of our win and the arrival tomorrow morning of Fabritzo, our new houseboy, I'll have to do it myself.

We've been flocked!

Sleepy snuggle with daddy

Processing

Boy wouldn't life be easier if we didn't have to deal with other peoples feelings?  I suppose the trade off for the complicated situations are the moments of peace and utter happiness that comes with loving yourself and those around you.

I was secretly pleased when I joined Jason's family only to discover that there was familial unrest and long seeded angst over issues that occurred during the childhoods of some of the cousins.  Not pleased in that I was taking joy in their inability to get along or cope as adults, but comfort in the fact that similar situations in my own family aren't as unique as I thought they were.

Since our wedding, when an unrelated crisis occurred and things came to a head, two members of the immediate cousins have stepped out of the family under the idea that it's easier not to deal with anyone else.  Having never really had the opportunity to know these folks as warm, loving people the loss is mostly the hurt my most important person has experienced.  I don't mean to suggest that he's ever sat down and wept over this situation, but I can tell that the withdrawal of friendship and the harsh things said about other members of the family are hurtful.  

For me, it is a lost opportunity to welcome the entire family into my life.   You may not believe it based upon what I share here, but I'm pretty guarded about my feelings.  (I get that from my dad.)  Now, with the inclusion of Jason and Lucy in my world I'm extremely guarded about their feelings as well.  Should the "family rift" be healed and everyone starts coming to family events again, it will be a long time before (if ever) I warm up an open myself or openly welcome these folks into our inner sphere.

I state all this because a similar situation is occurring on my side of the family and I'm considering drawing a line in the sand.  The decision is a lot more difficult because I know these folks and have grown up with them in my life.

Without getting into the gory details, one of the sisters is mad at my mom and has decided to cut off communication.  I suppose this is fine, if at the age of 60, you decide it is easier to step out of family events rather than deal with the offending sister.  However, it should be no surprise that doing that means you're opting out of all events where said sister is present.   I mean, if you're mad at me and don't want to see me, don't be shocked that Jason isn't popping by to say hi and have a glass of wine from time to time.  We are a team.  Similarly, as much as I have fond memories of time spent with this aunt and uncle, my heart lies with my parents.

Unfortunately, during Lucy's birthday weekend my failure to invite my aunt and uncle to Lucy's 1st birthday festivities became known to them in a way that was unintentionally, but none the less hurtful and my uncle called to ask about it.  I tried to cover (lie) to deflect, but as the conversation went on I fessed up that since I hadn't seen or heard from them since June, when they came to a picnic at my parents house and but didn't speak a single word to my mom, and then didn't respond to a genuine invitation to come to our home for a visit, that I thought I was following the party line and was leaving them alone per their own desires.   The phone call was uncomfortable and compounded by the fact that we had house guests who could hear my side of the conversation and were thankfully too polite to inquire.

So, here's the part that raises my blood pressure.  While my uncle was on the phone asking about what was going on and why they weren't invited, my aunt was in her car driving over to my parents house.  In the heat of her anger, she assumed that my mom was preventing me from having a relationship with her.  Her choice of names for my mother was (to be polite) unacceptable and the fact that she had to be told emphatically to get out of the house is troubling.  Be hurt, be angry, but don't forget yourself and lose control.  I live in a peaceful world, a peaceful house with people who are loving.  Sure, there are frustrations, but we do not scream and call each other names that rhyme with "sticking finch".    I don't want Lucy exposed to that within the comfort of her own family and I don't want her to think it is ever acceptable to refer to anyone in the family in those terms.  You can disagree, and even dislike members of your family, but disrespecting them in their own home is ... trashy.   Furthermore, the idea that at the age of 43, that my mom has any power whatsoever to prohibit me from having a relationship with anyone I want is preposterous.  It's laughable, I think Jason snorted milk through his nose at the idea that I could be "controlled".   I took it as a compliment that I'm a confident, self-assured woman and not a bull-headed, moose who does what I want regardless of rational thought.  Don't correct me, I like the way I'm looking at it.

My uncle asked me to reach out to my aunt to apologize for the invitation oversight and maybe suggest times we could get together (in neutral territory.)  I agreed, but that was before I knew about the drama at my parents house.  I've been mulling over a response and it isn't very "come visit!" or "let's meet for dinner".   They are 100% entitled to not like or spend time with anyone they like, but the same is true for me.  Furthermore, just as I'm not inclined to expose Lucy to the nuttiness that are the "angry cousins" I'm not inclined to give her lots of time with people who openly express anger towards her Grandmother.  (And by lots, you know I mean none....)

Life is too short to be spent being angry with each other, but if that's the path you're on, I can't stop you, but I can keep your angry energy out of my home.  Tragedy and sadness will come regardless of what I do, but our daily life can be peaceful and happy, so that when we're touched by the hard things in life we have a solid foundation to rely on.  (Is that too Zen for you?)

Anyway, I'm thinking if I respond to my aunt that an open letter to all the sisters is in order.  There's a lot of re-interpretation that happens among themselves and I'd rather be an open book than open for paraphrasing.

We'll see.  My next step is to write a letter, share it with my sane partner and then decide what to do.

Problem Solved

It looks like some lady named Vicki from somewhere Pennsylvania won my HGTV dream house.  I want to hate her for walking away with my fantasy vacation home, but after watching the video of her winning I can't.  She cried the good cry and still managed to be funny.  Her husband even dissed HGTV a bit when he said they watch the channel every night to put them to sleep (ha ha... I do that with CSI.)

Good for her.  I hope the dilemma of how to sleep more than 6 people in that 5,000 square foot house isn't too much of a burden.

I guess we're destined for the next dream house.

the winner of my house

Sleep and other traumas

Did I mention that I had a baby? I think I did. So far, things are going well. She's learning to eat with utensils or truth be told hold the spoon while feeding herself with the other hand. She's working on walking - she'll happily tootle through the house behind the mobile music 'thing' that is on wheels. She can't turn yet, so when walls happen she's simply stuck. This walking thing is a two person operation at this point. I think the more practice we get with the walker the sooner she'll let that thing go and just motor on her own. She doesn't get to move to the next class until she's walking, but she's READY to transition. She gets to visit that class during the day and doesn't seem to have the separation anxiety about leaving the infant room teachers that some of the other kids have shown.

Surprisingly, Miss Lucy was in a good mood after 'school' and played for quite a while. She hasn't been enjoying the bathtub lately, so Jason and I (foolishly) experimented with a mama & me shower. Not he and I, Lucy and I. It was a colossal FAILURE. Girlfriend screamed and cried the entire time. No amount of snuggles or reassurance worked and after a traumatic hair washing and body scrub I handed a drippy, screaming child to her dad who was waiting with a big fluffy towel. The screaming stopped immediately and all seemed right again in the world. Thankfully, by the time I finished up, and dried my hair (a necessary activity - I promise you.) she had disassociated the shower from me and was happy to see me.

> I don't really know why the bathtub is no longer fun, I thought it was related to a diaper rash, but that is nicely gone but she still doesn't want to sit and play like she use to. I'm sure it's simply a phase, and eventually she'll figure out that the longer she plays in the tub the later bedtime is. Last night she did get some post 'bath' playtime and in spite of the bad night sleep the night before made it until 6:30 pm before I spotted an eye rub and we zipped upstairs. It's cute how her sleepy cues are so subtle, and I almost question if we're putting her to bed too early. However, last night there was nary a peep from the nursery until 6:30 this morning. She's a terrible napper, but an excellent sleeper (most of the time.) Now, maybe she made sounds and I was too dead tired to hear it, but I don't think so. My mama hearing is pretty awesome.

Pigtails & a smile

Yogurt Face

flight delay

How sad, I was able to jump on the noon flight home from San Jose today and was even upgraded to first class. I made arrangements to pick up the peanut from day care early and was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the inbound plane. I sent a text to Jason about the 6 minute delay and then the announcement came...the defroster on the pilot side is not working and the replacement part has to be flown in from Seattle. It's on the inbound plane, that is due to arrive at 3:00. They swear its and easy fix once they have the part. We'll see. So much for picking Lucy up at day care, but i should be home before she goes to bed. Fingers crossed on that front. Either way, its still better than being on the 6:50 flight that arrives at 9:30pm.

I've already eaten lunch, so now here I sit in the squishy Southwest Airlines recliners mooching power from an airline I choose not to use. There is no flight out of this gate for a couple hours so I feel safe that I'm not taking a recliner from an actual customer.

The shopping options here at San Jose Mineta International Airport are sad. There are 9 Hudson stores (for overpriced water, nuts and San Jose t-shirts) and one "Life is Good" store. I did manage to find a cute summer sleeper for whatsherface, but that's about it. The food options here are far better than in San Francisco, but again... I already ate so it doesn't matter. There is a wine bar, but it's only 1:00 and I'm trying to keep up with my work mail, so boozing it up isn't an option.

I think I can share that we (Lucy's wonderful father and I) are headed to Maui next month and I'm very excited. Leaving Lucy with Grandma & Grandpa is a blessing but I do know we will miss the heck out of her. We certainly don't plan on dumping her at G&G's every year, but it's a nice option every now and then.

I spent some time online looking at adventures in Maui for the baby free set and found a luau that looks amazing. I found some spas that offer outdoor side by side massages for couples, but honestly if I was going to spend $500 in an afternoon I want it to last more than an hour. Snorkling sounds great and reasonably priced, but I want to wait to book it until we get there. I don't want to snorkle if there's tsunami debris in the water. I'm not worried about radiation or anything like that, but it is expected and they can't say how much or what type of stuff there will be. Better to risk the 10% early booking discount than forfeit the fee for opting not to go. Plus, it's not garbage, it's the remainder of peoples lives, their houses and their stuff...that feels personal.

well, I guess that's about it. If you need me< I'm at gate 22.

Terri

Judge Much!?

I'm cruising Facebook while I eat dinner tonight (on the road) and am reading the Chinookville group for a usually sweet look into the little area I grew up in. Normally posts are folks looking to buy, sell, or trade goods and services. Tonight I spotted a question "Does anyone know where to rent a space for a baby shower and how far ahead to book?"

As I read through the replies it became clear that the gal posing the question is the soon to be mama (which is a slight breach of social rules) and that she wants to wait until AFTER graduation. Um...her graduation.

Teen pregnancy isn't a scandal, or unfortunately unusual, but I hope to not be a Grammy when Lucy is seventeen. But, if she does come home with a bun in the oven you can bet your bippy she won't be planning her OWN baby shower.

Just Goofing Around

birthday girl

Lucy & Grandma Georgia

Lost in San Francisco

  I wasn't really lost, I took some "lost time" during one of the lesser sessions at the conference I'm at yesterday.

I took off on foot to Chinatown and enjoyed the sights and sounds of that neighborhood as it came to life.   Shops were being opened and the local bakeries were filled with folks enjoying a morning meal.  As I wandered around (hopeful that I wouldn't have to re-trace my steps) it was fun to see this neighborhood without throngs of tourists.  I got pulled into a couple shops that had wonderful and colorful 'things' to buy, freshwater pearls, silk outfits, scarves, jade trinkets were presented similarly in each storefront.   In spite of signs exclaiming "70% off"  or "Everything Must Go" the prices seemed consistent between the stores.  Bargains in Chinatown are not to be found, so I decided to only buy the things I thought were priced fairly and that I really wanted.  It ended up being a small list, a purple silk outfit for Lucy and a cute "Chinese" looking magnet for my bulletin board.

Once done in that neighborhood I wandered towards the main shopping district downtown.  I found a few treasures that seemed worthy to get.  My criteria for acquisition included the "do I want to carry it" test. 

I found a nice place to sit and enjoy lunch and in spite of the $17 tab for my sandwich, it had to be sent back to the kitchen due to a significant disagreement about what "medium" meant in relation to the doneness of the meat. 

I decided to continue on foot back to the hotel.  I was only nine blocks away.  However, in San Francisco six of those nine were straight up hill.  I took my time and enjoyed the warm but windy walk.  My 'former fat girl' trick to a hilly walk is to cross periodically stop and cross the street to take a few steps at a non-incline.  I know it means that the walk takes longer, but it works for me. 

My face was quite pink and I was breathing rapidly when I got back to the hotel, but my walk was great and I feel like I experienced a nice slice of San Francisco. 

The night before we were at the waterfront and had an event at the aquarium.  I zipped into the Hard Rock Cafe and picked up a treat for my guy.  It's a good thing too, because as I was packing my treasures from my day out it was clear that everything was for Lucy or me, but not for Jason.  Sorry honey, maybe I'll find something at the HMS Host store at the airport.

1st birthday party recap

The house filled with relatives and not one fight broke out.  Wait, these were mostly Jason's side of the family, where there have been fights but the 'difficult' topics have been moved to the side and those who can't not bring it up have stopped coming around.  Translation:  they are just as screwed up as every other family, but we're living in a peaceful era these days.

Lucy's Denver grandparents flew in Wednesday and immediately started the process of getting familiar with the ever changing child.  My mom arrived Thursday and it didn't take too long for Lucy to be comfortable with the "strangers" who had moved into our house.   I wonder at what age she starts having memories of these people who love her so very much.  It doesn't take her long to relax and play but (vainly so) it is pleasing how much she still runs to mama when she can.    As long as I stay out of her line of sight she's happy.  With multiple grandparents in the house I can get stuff done.  By stuff I mean, hanging party decorations. 

Thursday was Lucy's actual birthday and to celebrate she had an appointment with Dr. Robin, our pediatrician.  The appointment went well, we got the ok to feed her anything we want (peanut butter, fish…) with safety in mind.  It will be a while before she is given a handful of peanuts or other choking hazards.   Lucy cried during the weigh in (but what girl doesn't) but then recovered until the dreaded peak into her ears and mouth.  We calmed her again but there were the shots… poor little peanut.  The only "upside" to the shots is that she screams so much that we get a good look at her teeth.  (a small consolation.)

Lucy was kind enough to be happy during a lunch out and then took a lengthy nap.  We let her open a gift and gave her a slice of birthday cake. We figured that doing it on her actual birthday with a small audience would be less stressful than the major event Saturday with 26 of her closest friends and family looking on.  Oh, we did that too, but it was a lot less fun for her.

Friday, after a morning of play we dumped the one year old at "school" and we went to John Howie Steak House for lunch.  We also ran some errands to prepare for the big event the next day.  Jason and his dad made spaghetti sauce for 26 and in doing so cleared our spice cupboard.   If you need us next weekend we'll be downtown at Penzy's purchasing oregano, fennel and basil.  

Saturday we finished cleaning the house (which means taking all those little things that live on the counters and hiding them in places where they will never be found again) and prepared for the onset of the party guests.  Our first guest arrived at noon and the last person left around seven.  These are great people who break up into loud and happy groups.   We pulled together lunch while keeping Lucy happy and visiting with our guests.   It takes a village to feed a village.  Even with the sauce made ahead and warming in a huge crock pot finishing the pasta, the bread and whipping up a massive Caesar salad was coordinated effort.  (Huge thanks to Jas' mom who handwashed and tore  the lettuce) and made me look like the hero when I whipped up a fresh salad in no time flat.

We fed the people,  and then opened gifts.  Lucy enjoyed opening the boxes, but probably would have been happy to stop after the first box was opened.  There was a rather large influx of toys into her world Saturday.  We're in discussions about how to limit the overwhelming nature of 20 new toys.  Some items may be 'set aside' for a bit and I think we'll weed out some of the stuff that isn't as popular.   We'll see, there is still a hope that our entire main floor does not become a 100% dedicated kid space.

The birthday cake plan at the party didn't go as well as I had envisioned.  She cried when we plopped her down,  she calmed enough to endure being serenaded and I was careful to keep the cake with the candle out of reach… well, not careful enough.  Her little hand was reaching towards the lit candle and I blew it out as fast as I could, but she grabbed the hot smoking wick and burned her little thumb.   Bad Mama!  No permanent damage was done, but I feel terrible.

Once the public display portion of the party was over, Lucy was happy again.  Clearly this party was more about our survival of the first year vs. a party for Lucy.  Next year we will keep it to a dull roar, perhaps a present from mommy and daddy and dinner. 

Sunday we finished reclaiming the house and I had to get ready to leave.  I left on a 5:00pm flight to San Francisco.  Thankfully, Jason's mom is hanging out at our house until Wednesday.  While Lucy comes down off the disruption of her schedule it will be handy for Jason to have some help.  This morning that meant that she was able to take a long long nap before going to school.    Hopefully tonight, when she's back in her own room and back on a 'schedule' that she'll sleep better tonight.

We're superbly blessed with a happy child who is bright, no health issues and she brightens our world every day.   I loved Lucy at day one, but at year one I'm excited about her personality, her humor and the life she has ahead of her.   

 

Birthday gifts are good!

Lucy has birthday cake!

Lucy finds safety at her 1 yr doctor appt

Bubbles!!!