Monkey!!!

I can hardly believe it, but I'm the Mother of two boys. How fabulous is that?!

The tiny yawner pictured above is Monkey. I have all sorts of things to say about this guy but for now, just the basics.

May 16 2012 (Wednesday afternoon)
7 lbs and 13 ozs
21.5 inches

Baker

Baker passed away yesterday.

I will be forever grateful to Muzzie and Grandpa who were with him during his last moments and took such loving care of him throughout his life, but particularly at what turned out to be the end.

Today I'm imagining that the Bake is enjoying endless off-leash walks, naps in the sunshine and all the freshly-baked-not-meant-for-him treats he can snatch from the counter.

Much love friend.

The Daybook April 22

Outside my window... the sun is out, but temps are still (relatively) cool. We've had my kind of weather this weekend. Yesterday was a bit dreary (rainy and surprisingly cool), but today the sun is shining again. I like a bit of rain to mix things up every so often, but one day's worth is plenty. 

I am thinking.... about so many things I can't keep them all straight.

I am thankful.... that the three of us made it through the night last night. This outcome wasn't certain at about 2am. Last night was night three in our Everyone Stays in Their Own Bed ALL Night regime and it wasn't pretty. When night 1 was not so bad and night 2 was downright easy we thought we were home free. We were wrong. Yogi voiced his complaint VERY LOUDLY last night and we're all pretty tired as a result. Cross your fingers that night 4 begins a trend in the right direction.

In the kitchen.... the times are changing. Again. Kate has gotten to the No More Room stage of the pregnancy and just about anything you can think of is just too much food. We've had huge salads with veggie burgers and as much sushi as we can get away with lately. I'm imagining that within the week we'll be done with meals entirely and on to all day grazing. If only it was cherry season already. It doesn't feel quite like the third trimester without them. ;)

I am reading...  far too many books at once. As I type this, I have four going. I think this is likely a reliable indicator of my anxiety level. 

I am looking forward to... a good night's sleep. Yes, I know I am a broken record.

I am hearing.... words like No! and Done! way more frequently than I would like. 

Around the house... it's all Monkey all the time. The arrival of this baby and what we need to do to prepare for is all anyone around here can see at the moment.

One of my favorite things... is Sonobana sushi. 

Highlights from the week: 

• Yogi helped with his first batch of banana muffies. Who knew the boy was such a skilled banana masher?! Yum! 
• Kate made it home from Las Vegas with Monkey safely on board. Whew! NOT a fan of third trimester air travel. 
• Yogi had an appointment with Dr. Wonderful and at 20 months he is 30" tall and weighs 23 lbs. When the doctor asked whether he had any words, Yogi piped up immediately with "Horsies. Hay!". 
• Yogi made daily visits with his new best friend CoCo (the dog across the street) AND enjoyed lunch on the patio at Star Bagel IN HIS OWN CHAIR with his friend Eb-brett (that part is Yogi speak). 
• The three of us spent the afternoon at the local Children's Theatre production of Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type. Total win. Yogi was mesmerized (I'm not sure he moved a muscle for almost an hour) and we had a blast. 
• Kate and Yogi met a tarantula (they have 8 eyes, did you know that?!!) and what Kate described as a giant bunny at Zoo Babies. There was also a craft and animal crackers.

Here is a picture thought I'm sharing.... "MY Goldfish!". Sometimes when you've got good food, you've got to protect it.

Happy Holidays!

 

Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays as much as we are!  We are wrapping up 2011 in style and looking forward to the new year.

May 20, 2012

A Weekend Away

The last four days have been blissful.  This is not an exaggeration.  The three of us haven't taken a real vacation (read: not wholly for the purpose of visiting friends or family) in I can't remember when.   

Four days in the North Carolina mountains were just what the doctor ordered*.  It started when we were able to get out of town early (nothing like great co-workers!) on Thursday and neither of us had to drive through the night.  That was big.  I was fairly sleep-deprived from a combination of NaNoWriMo and the cold and Kate was no better, so this was a coup.  Although I did have to feed him dinner in the car (not my favorite), Yogi was a great little traveler.  

Due to a combination of fabulous grandparents (love you Grandpa and Muzzie!) and general gameness on all of our parts, we were able to do all sorts of fun things:

• Go to a movie!  In a theater!  We saw Margin Call and it was both disturbing and very, very good.  A combination I particularly enjoy.
• Eat a yummy dinner at a Thai restaurant.  Green curry with eggplant, yum!
• Take a handful of cool, leaf crunchy walks.
• Begin co-reading Maria Montessori's The Absorbent Mind.
• Sleep late!!!!!!
• Sit on a miniature horse for the first time.  This was Yogi and he thought Charlie (the horse) was pretty cool.
• Have lot of wanderingly satisfying conversations.

It's always good to be home, but this vacation was a sweet one.  I love spending time with all of us together.

*This actually is something of a stretch as all of us STILL have the cold that we've had since before Halloween, but we didn't let it get us down.

Yogi the Turtle

The little guy wasn't up for any serious Trick-or-Treating this year, but he was certainly game for a party. Kate and I were thrilled that he was so willing to do deal with the costume, even wearing the hat!  Yogi simply will.not.have. anything on his head, but I guess he was so distracted by the other little bats and mummies that he didn't have any extra attention to focus on it.  An evening party with a one-year old who has a 7 o clock bedtime is a brief affair, but we enjoyed every minute!

April Begins

April marks the last complete month of my employment.  Most of the time this job has felt like it would never end, but it's looking like it actually will.  And soon!  I've decided to enjoy these last few weeks in the classroom.  I am certain that I will return to teaching in some capacity, but I don't know when that will be, so I'm soaking up all the good stuff before I go.  Operation One Month to Go calls for enjoying my students and ignoring my colleagues.  This is also known as Business as Usual.

It seems like my housing prayers will be answered soon.  Early last week Toad got a promising lead (cool house in a cool neighborhood, likely to go fast) through a med school friend and I headed out-of-town bright and early Thursday morning to check it out.  We arranged appointments throughout the afternoon to make the drive worthwhile and although I was WORN OUT by the end of the day, I was fairly certain I had found the place.  We'll be ironing out the details this week, so it's not final yet, but I'm optimistic.  Here are the details:

• First floor condo (built only two years ago) in riding distance of the university that accepts dogs!!!!!!
  
• Overlooks a VERY attractive courtyard, with winding pathways, flowers and outdoor fireplaces
  
• Two good size bedrooms plus a small study nook
  
• Fabulous kitchen
  
• Fairly swank gym

I headed out-of-town Friday morning for Toad's parents house where we spent a quiet Easter weekend, sleeping late and taking long walks and talking outside on the porch.  At 18 weeks, Toad got up on Saturday morning to go on a ride with her Dad.  He claims she's slowed down a bit, but I wonder about that.  I'm surprised that she's able to do these things in the 2nd trimester, but as she pointed out, when your Dad is an OB, going for a ride with him is the best way to be on a bike.