Hi baby monkey. I really enjoyed our evening together today, after I picked you up after work. While I was on my way to Grandma & Grandpa's to pick you up I was thinking about how much you have grown since I went back to work and you started going there regularly.
You were just 3 1/2 months old when I went back to work. You were so much tinier...and it was easy to hold you in one arm. You weren't quite sitting up yet, were you? I don't remember...I would have to look that up. But your days would be filled with sleeping in your little baby swing, cooing, sleeping, learning to drink out of a bottle. Sometimes Grandma would hold you all day long because you would wake up when she laid you down. And you fit sideways on your little changing table.
Now, your legs are much longer and you barely fit in the changing table. You've outgrown the baby swing, the bouncy seat, and you take much longer naps now. (Although life is so exciting to you that it is often hard to get you to go to sleep!) You sit up in the stroller, eagerly bouncing up and down, ready to go to the park or up the block. You love your big girl swing in the backyard, and now you eat all kinds of food in your high chair instead of just drinking bottles.
It's hard for me to imagine that in a few short months we'll be celebrating your one-year-old birthday. You'll be walking by then, and will have figured out a few more words. (I think you may have stumbled upon "Mama" today, but I don't think you realized it!)
I am sad every morning when I have to go to work and be away from you, but I am thankful that I have a good job that helps your Dad and me take good care of you. My most favorite part of the whole day is when I get to turn off my computer, pack up, and head home to see you. I can't wait to gather you up in my arms, kiss your soft little cheeks, look into your big blue eyes and listen to you babble and coo the story of your day to me. I love our nursing times together, love eating dinner together and laughing at silly faces. I love giving you a bath and watching you learn how things float and how to splash in the water. I love sitting back and watching you play, learning and growing and figuring things out every minute. I love rocking you to sleep in the dark and quiet bedroom, watching your eyelids grow heavier and heavier as you sink into my arms and listen to me sing. I love coming in to bed when it's my bed time, moving you over a bit, and hearing you sigh your deep, sleepy sigh as we all get comfy in bed for another night's sleep.
The older you get, the more you will become your own person and I am so looking forward to watching you grow. In the meantime, I jealously guard these precious moments we have together every day while you are small. I love you so much, and I am so glad that I get to be your mommy.
I love you!
- Mommy
4.28.2009
4.26.2009
A "State of the Mommy" Address
Today Nate and I acted on a hard decision we made months ago and just haven't been able to carry out...we told Leonard we aren't going to do music for CBC anymore. It's sad that it's over, and without any fanfare or hurrah. But it's the right thing for our family, and I'm glad that we finally told him we needed to quit. It's been really hard on Eden and it takes up a large half of the weekend, and weekends seem pretty small to begin with lately!
On Food: Today I officially feel like my mouth is back to normal. I have eaten crackers and toast and am really happy to be off of shakes. Other than two rapidly shrinking holes in my jaw I am back to normal and I can't say enough good things about the oral surgery team that removed my wisdom teeth -- they were awesome. Except for the whole "you can't nurse for 24 hours." They are going to get a letter from me with a list of references that say it is not a problem. Just so they can consider giving their future patients enough information to make an informed decision.
Our house is getting messy again; it's time to pull out the garbage bags, weed through some stuff, and make another trip to Goodwill. If I had more time I'd try to have a garage sale but I really have no clue when I would fit that in. (I really have no clue when I would fit in the weeding out of things, but let's continue under that delusion for a short while longer; it gives me something mundane to think about when I'm trying to fall asleep.)
I start teaching at UoP a week from tomorrow. A real-life, full-fledged faculty member. I got my business cards this past week. I'm excited and a teensy bit nervous. A year agoI would have been lesson-planning like crazy, but Eden has repriortized my life and I realize that I used to put a lot of extra effort into things that didn't necessarily require it. The class is a general marketing class for business majors; it will be fun.
Dinner tonight was really, really good. Nate and I discovered a spaghetti sauce at Vons that looked really good but is uber-expensive, so we never bought it. But it was on sale today so Nate picked up a jar, and we opened a bottle of Columbia Crest Merlot and together it was yummy yummy yummy. After Eden went to sleep I had another glass of wine and a hot shower and read about "8 - 12 month development" in the American Academy of Pediatrics book that someone gave us when Eden was born. She's right on target, and I don't feel worried anymore about her clinginess. Apparently, well-adjusted babies who have strong relationships with their parents are more likely to have issues with strangers at an early age, but are also more likely to pass through the phase more quickly. Makes it a little easier to swallow the difficult nursery episodes at church.
Okay, I'm going to sign off and get this posted before the peanut wakes up for her 11 pm feeding. Looking forward to a good week and wishing you all one, as well.
On Food: Today I officially feel like my mouth is back to normal. I have eaten crackers and toast and am really happy to be off of shakes. Other than two rapidly shrinking holes in my jaw I am back to normal and I can't say enough good things about the oral surgery team that removed my wisdom teeth -- they were awesome. Except for the whole "you can't nurse for 24 hours." They are going to get a letter from me with a list of references that say it is not a problem. Just so they can consider giving their future patients enough information to make an informed decision.
Our house is getting messy again; it's time to pull out the garbage bags, weed through some stuff, and make another trip to Goodwill. If I had more time I'd try to have a garage sale but I really have no clue when I would fit that in. (I really have no clue when I would fit in the weeding out of things, but let's continue under that delusion for a short while longer; it gives me something mundane to think about when I'm trying to fall asleep.)
I start teaching at UoP a week from tomorrow. A real-life, full-fledged faculty member. I got my business cards this past week. I'm excited and a teensy bit nervous. A year agoI would have been lesson-planning like crazy, but Eden has repriortized my life and I realize that I used to put a lot of extra effort into things that didn't necessarily require it. The class is a general marketing class for business majors; it will be fun.
Dinner tonight was really, really good. Nate and I discovered a spaghetti sauce at Vons that looked really good but is uber-expensive, so we never bought it. But it was on sale today so Nate picked up a jar, and we opened a bottle of Columbia Crest Merlot and together it was yummy yummy yummy. After Eden went to sleep I had another glass of wine and a hot shower and read about "8 - 12 month development" in the American Academy of Pediatrics book that someone gave us when Eden was born. She's right on target, and I don't feel worried anymore about her clinginess. Apparently, well-adjusted babies who have strong relationships with their parents are more likely to have issues with strangers at an early age, but are also more likely to pass through the phase more quickly. Makes it a little easier to swallow the difficult nursery episodes at church.
Okay, I'm going to sign off and get this posted before the peanut wakes up for her 11 pm feeding. Looking forward to a good week and wishing you all one, as well.
4.06.2009
The World is Eden's Oyster
Some days, I think Eden is a completely different person between the time she goes to sleep one night and the time I pick her up the next day after work. She is growing by leaps and bounds...mentally, physically...the whole nine yards. It's so amazing to see! Today when I picked her up she was boogie'n to the 50's tunes on her little diner play set at Grandma J.'s. Eating the ketchup bottle. Repeatedly closing the freezer door. (Grandma would open it; Eden would close it.) Busy, busy, busy little bee....I wish I could really describe it here. My words don't do it justice.
Sunday, the three of us went to Sea World, and Eden absolutely LOVES the aquariums. She gets so excited when the fishies pass her by, and reaches out to touch them. I wonder what goes through her mind when she touches the cool glass. Does she think that is how the fish feel? She also loves to be outside in her stroller. She sits right up with her hands on the front bar and looks at us when we stop as if to say, "What's the deal, guys? There's so much stuff up ahead! Why are we stopped? Let's go!"
Sunday, the three of us went to Sea World, and Eden absolutely LOVES the aquariums. She gets so excited when the fishies pass her by, and reaches out to touch them. I wonder what goes through her mind when she touches the cool glass. Does she think that is how the fish feel? She also loves to be outside in her stroller. She sits right up with her hands on the front bar and looks at us when we stop as if to say, "What's the deal, guys? There's so much stuff up ahead! Why are we stopped? Let's go!"
Last Tuesday, Eden said her first words....."Hi Daddy!" Actually, more like "hi da da da da-da-da hi da-daddy daddy dee dee dee hi daddy" accompanied by "ba da da ba de da ba da fffftp ba da dee dee ffttpt." At first we thought it might just be a fluke, but she woke up saying it to herself in a quite little whisper Wednesday morning and then it was pretty much all she said all day. Cutie pie.
She can also pull herself up to standing, now, and when she does so in her crib, will scooch around her crib from one end to the other, depending on how much she wants whatever is at the other end of her crib.
Let's see...she's giving wide, open-mouth kisses, will high-five her daddy and her grandpa, sings along to music, loves the coconut-and-sea-shell chimes by our front door, loves to eat fruity puff snacks, is only waking up once or maybe twice at night, brushes her "teeth" along with mommy (though she looks like she doesn't understand what on earth we are doing) and loves to hold things with her feet. She's wearing 9-month clothes, won't fall asleep in her stroller any more, and loves to eat all of the baby food we've given her with the exception of chickpeas. We call her The Peanut, our little monkey, or sometimes snickerdoodle. Her hair is lighter than when she was born, and has turned a beautiful light reddish brown color. She's had her first cold, still loves her baths, and likes to pet Frankie. We both love her to pieces.
Casey asked me awhile back to put together the 25 Things I Love About Eden. I'll do that soon. In the meantime, here are some of our memories from Sea World on Sunday...
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