o-HI-o

Back this morning from another quick weekend road trip. Braden's best friend growing up got married in Cincinnati yesterday. We drove most of the way Friday and stayed the night in Kentucky, then finished the drive on Saturday. I am starting to be a believer of the old school traveling, ie; no movie player. She does great with books and toys and her trusty falsetto singing voice. And her sister's appendages. It was delightful to hear her banter from the backseat. We got to the church a few minutes before it started and ran inside to change in the bathroom. While sprucing up, the majority of the bridesmaids came into the bathrooom at some point. Each time, Anabelle would ask them their name, introduce herself, and introduce "my baby sister, baby Lila". As each person from the wedding party proceeded down the aisle, Anabelle and I would say to each other, "Oh, there's Mia, she looks beautiful", "Oh there's Crissy, she looks beautiful". It dawned on me that my 2 year old had introduced me to the entire female side of the wedding party in the first 15 minutes we arrived. It was by far the fanciest wedding I have ever been to and we were feeling a little out of place. Something about having kids with a flatulence problem in the middle of someones ceremony made it hard to make eye contact with other guests. Definitely should not have carried my diaper bag purse. Note to self if I ever attend another wedding outside of a cultural hall. Anabelle busted out her Elaine-esq dance moves and I totally abused the open bar. 4, maybe 5 diet cokes.

the haps at our house

As previously mentioned, a last minute Reynolds rendezvous happened again. Friday afternoon I told Braden he should call his little brother Cody who is interning in Houston for the summer and get him to come over for the weekend. He chatted with him online. I walked by and read Cody's last message which was "see you in 10 hours". I got the rest of the story when Cody arrived. Apparently Braden promised that we would move to Washington if Cody would come for the weekend. Hmmmm. That's a pretty weird thing to promise without consulting the wife. Cody came bearing a contract to be signed. What is it with these nonsense bets and the notarized contracts that seal them that my dear Braden involves himself in? I used to think our marriage was the only binding document to which he was a party but oh contra ire. But, we got Uncle Cody for the weekend so we'll settle up with that other stuff later. We didn't do anything extravagant. Anabelle just loved playing with "my friend Cody". I went to pick her up from Nursery on Sunday and the teacher said she was already gone. I had passed Braden in the hall and he didn't have her so I had a small feeling of concern. The teacher told me that the door opened, a man came in, and Anabelle yelled that she was going with her friend, and left with him. Well that is pretty much what we fear about her so I was relieved to remember after a few seconds that Cody was there. Nothing too exciting but everything that a long holiday should include: grilling ribs, swimming, family, friends, and a trip to the emergency room. The day ended with a 4 hour trip to the ER for Lila with what turned out to be a UTI.

I returned her to the doctor today (a new stop in our doctor shopping...I think I'll keep this one though) because the antibiotics didn't seem to be helping. The doctor said it must be a very bad infection because this particular medication is supposed to work very well on this kind of infection. Truth be told I now think she's had it for the last few weeks. She has been a teensy bit fussy (fussy=less smiley, a bit less content) but I thought maybe she was finally getting a chomper. But then she had the unmistakable smell in her diaper and high fever which we've learned to recognize because Anabelle had about 5 of them as an infant as well. Apparently it is hereditary. Because it is so rare for infants to have these, she now has to go back to Children's and have an Angiogram and ultrasound to make sure there aren't big problems there. She may already have built up quite a tolerance for antibiotics because she basically lived with an IV of them for the first 5 weeks of life. The nurse today gave her a big shot of a more powerful antibiotic to see if we could break the fever. She said that this was a painful shot and was trying to brace me for it. Lila didn't make a peep. Not even a wince. I don't even know if she noticed. Given, there is a good amount of cushion in those thighs, but still, she is a champion.

We realize that Anabelle has spent way too much time in hospitals and doctors offices. Not that anyone makes her uncomfortable, but she feels the same ease talking with doctors as she does friends on the playground. When the doc walked out of the room at the ER the other night she climbed up on the chair and in a very serious voice looked at Braden and I and said, "Ok, so tell me what's been going on". The time before that she was dancing all around the room and singing loudly and she didn't skip a beat when the doctor walked in. As soon as doc entered the room Anabelle yells an invitation to join her, saying, "Shake your boodie Doctor! Shake your boodie!" And every time a new person comes in Anabelle proudly announces, "Dr, meet my baby Lila!" Then she's been saying, "She's a lil cutie pie. But she's a sickie. She has a fever. She doesn't feel berry good".

Anabelle has been all sorts of helpful this week with Lila. I've found her trying to take her temperature rectally or removing her diaper to check for diahhrea. And yesterday I stepped out of the shower to see that Anabelle had laid Lila down and filled up her belly button with lip gloss. 2 minutes. Is that too much to ask? Can a girl wash her hair for 2 minutes?

Other than that, I have girls camp coming up in a week and I am looking forward to that (being over) so I can have my life and my spare room back. Although Anabelle might be sad it's over because I will return to feeding them healthier meals and less movie time. Unless I don't...


Lila discovers her jolly belly

She seems okay with it


This is the morning I discovered the fever and smell. She looks fussy and miserable right?

You can see why I'm ecstatic when I get to share a bed with Anabelle. Braden had a good point though- if we teach all our kids to sleep this way we can pile them all in this very bed and never have to buy another. We could fit at least 8 or 9 (that is if I get pregnant with sextuplets on my next pregnancy)

Payoff

I'm walking down the hall with Anabelle. She grabs my hand and holds it and says, "I love you so much. And I love family home levening. And I love home."

Mothering

An unexpected Mother's day gift showed up unconventionally around midnight last night when our hallway filled up with water from a broken pipe. Some servicemen were called out to come extract the water. About this same time, two of Braden's brothers showed up to pick him up for their cross country trek to help the Silver Fox move. The cleaners spoke Spanish, as do the three hermanos. I told the guys to ask him what he would charge to clean the carpet in my dining room (either this is my last carpeted dining room, or my kids eat on our doorstep for every meal. Forever. Rain or shine. I mean it). The dude says 30 bucks. I said 15 bucks and a book that is guaranteed to change your life. So Reese paid the guy 30 bucks and my carpets are cleaned.(And it turns out, he is interested in the book). I made Anabelle eat on a towel today. Not sure when or if the kids get to return from their exile to all rooms tiled. Look at me shining on Mother's day. That probably wasn't as sad as when I dumped a pile of Cheerios on the floor for dinner for the girls to eat so I could fall asleep for 10 minutes. (That being said, I must congratulate myself on a huge parenting accomplishment this week in Anabelle's grooming. I successfully cut her fingernails, toenails, and her rat-tail mullet. Some of you know the struggle with the nails. Oh, the struggle. We have tried grandparents, uncles, aunts, friends, shameless bribery, and one morning I wrestled her to the ground and physically restrained her-no small feat. It was not my best idea. Not a glorious memory. But she got her nails painted as a reward and her hair no longer fits with the Alabama general public).

Then someone knocked on the door and it was our friend Jared. He handed me a huge bouquet of beautiful flowers. I wanted to say, "Uh, does Stephanie know you're here"? Turns out Braden took him the flowers before he left so they could be delivered to me today. There's no explaining that to Anabelle though. She keeps saying, "they're not from Daddy, they're from Jared". Good. Hope she spreads that around the ward real quick.

I also got invited into Anabelle's nursery class at church today for a special Mother's day treat. I was bracing myself for the usual nursery setup: all other kids running to their parents anxiously, throwing their arms around them and yelling their names happily. Meanwhile Anabelle either runs the other way, yells "NOOOO, I DONT WANT TO GO HOME!", or my personal favorite where she runs to you making you feel excited only to push you out the door yelling, "GO!". She lives for nursery and cheese. But, she was cuddly and loving with me and very sweet. She gave me a handmade craft to pin on my shirt and I said, "Oh! You made this for me?!" and she casually said, "Nah. Julienne did". At least she's honest.

Mother's Day has become not only a day of appreciation for my own Mom, but an immense gratitude for the blessing of being a mother myself. It has allowed me see my own Mom in a new way. To know something of her sleepless nights, her worry, her tender care, her pleading prayers- gives me a deeper gratitude for her service.

Nothing has changed me more, challenged me, rewarded me, aggravated me, lifted me, made me cry, brought more joy and laughter than has motherhood. When I found out I was pregnant with Anabelle I was preparing for grad school and had loved my post college jobs. I feared that I would feel unfulfilled and that I would miss work. There have maybe been five days where that has been the case. If I had a PhD I wouldn't miss the chance of raising these kids and being their Mom. One day I'll go back to work and start raking in the cash doing social work again. But until then, Anabelle is about all the social work I can handle.

I am thankful everyday that I get to be a Mom. With all that I am, in the deepest most sincere and raw parts of my soul, I love being a Mom.


Aldridge in the Fall

Me looking fabulous (clearly) while doing Buns of Steel with Anabelle- a highlight of my day. I had the camera out because I was trying to capture her working it. That's pretty much my goal for the month of May. I warned you about the lowering standards.

Making Lila laugh. Not hard- she's an easy crowd. If you can't make Lila laugh there is a good chance you are mostly dead.

A letter to...(yawn)....what was I saying?

In my Counseling class in college we learned that sometimes when one feels frustrated or angry at past offenses done to them, a letter written to the culprit could help work past these unwanted feelings to bring peace. Some of those words are a bit strong for me but, here goes...

Sweet Anabelle,

I know that you are still very small. I also know that you recognize and understand what a pattern is, you pick up on them everyday. So I'm hoping you will understand what I mean when I say that for the last few months you have established a pattern of staying awake all night. We hear you singing in your bed in the wee hours of the morning. I get several visits from you many nights of the week, sometimes 4 or 5 per night. The rest of the pattern is that during the day, you generally will not take a nap (unless we have spent the entire morning playing at the park). I have tried everything I can think of to help you remember your old beautiful sleeping schedule. The tragedy is that after you and I have spent a lot of time together in the night, sometimes we are not our best selves the next day. And I don't mean to be rude but, you especially. I am sure that this is just a phase. One day soon your little body will get back on track. But in the meantime, I've decided to stop trying to "fix" it, and as any good mother would do, completely lower my standards. There may be more movie time than I usually allow, I may rethink my definition of a "dirty" sock, it's possible that I will even somehow find a way to justify a fruit roll-up as breakfast (it wouldn't be that hard- I mean look at the name). And I know there's been recent debate about this, but I may even cast my vote on the side of 'yes, putting your hair in a ponytail is the same thing as taking a shower'. Please do not take advantage of this, as I'm only doing it out of necessity to preserve my sanity. Please know that I very much look forward to spending lots of time with you again. The real you, the one that is hilarious and sweet and a great sidekick. I love you completely and absolutely with my whole heart always and forever.

xoxo,

Mom

Things get ugly around 4. Doing a craft to try to make it through the day. I gave you the spaghetti you tossed last night as a snack....
...But again it didn't seem to work out. If you hate spaghetti that much just say so. Sheesh, you could just ask for a sandwich you know.

Dear, dear daughter of mine

A rough sketch of your life on May 5, 2009...

12:30- visit Mom at her bedside and stare creepily at her until she senses me
2am- visit Mom at her bedside to tell her that I am thirsty
3am- visit Mom at her bedside to tell her I want to snuggle her
3am-5am- snuggle mom in my bed. "snuggle" should be interpreted as playing with hair, petting her face, singing in my best falsetto songs that I make up as I go.
7am- awake and notice that mom has snuk back to her bed. Run to her room to see if baby Lila can be climbed on and squished yet.
10am- tell mom that you are too tired to go to Publix. Go to your room and instead of napping, dump every item out of every container, take all 200 books off the shelf, and run around like a monkey.
11am- play with Lila on the floor until she falls asleep. put her bottle on the counter and go to your room to find a new adventure.
1pm- see how far you can spread lunch around without actually consuming a single crumb of food.
4pm- become very whiny and emotional because you are exhausted. watch your mom take several deep, cleansing breaths.
6pm- throw your plate of spaghetti and your fork. Get put in the time out closet. Promptly pee on mom's freshly washed blankets. Go right to sleep.

xoxo,

your loving, tired Mother




Seriously? Did your father not whittle you beds with his bare hands?

Smelling the roses....

We believe in picnics. Big time. All the time. We also believe in matching clothes for the girls. When I say "we", I mean "I", because matching outfits makes Braden roll his eyes and he hates being outside unless it is below 60 degrees. So, yesterday I did my favorite thing to do- I went picnicking with my girls. There are few things I love more than to saunter around in the sun with Anabelle listening to her chatter about the world. We wandered around the gardens for a few hours as we like to do exploring earth matter and stalking the geese family who had a new baby. I count these experiences as no small blessing. It means that we are all healthy, and that I have the opportunity to stay home with them.

I'm like Ferris Bueller- I wake up and think, "How can I possibly be expected to handle laundry on a day like this?" I can't stay inside and be productive when I could be playing outside with the girls. What I'm saying is, don't drop by my house- unless you have a Brillo pad and a bucket of Clorox. I met an old man today who made me feel validated in my decision to opt for play time instead of housekeeping (continually). He looked at my girls and told me to enjoy everyday with them because he has seven girls and they are all gone now and he misses them everyday. I just tucked Anabelle in and as we were laying there together snuggling and kissing each other, I was just thinking how I never want these days with my little ones to end. Someone told me once that children spell love T-I-M-E. Which I know is an exaggeration because Anabelle spells every word b-a-n-a-n-a-s. But I think the principle is true. One day my fridge shelves will be clean and my closets will be organized. But not until I know that there aren't little people that could be cracking me up instead.

Still rockin out....

It's been a while since I had a second-hand high. Whenever I used the bathroom for the last time at Colton High (which by the way is in the Reader's Digest this month for the sign on the front of our high school that says we are "Commited to High Standards". And yes, it is spelled wrong. Can I really be held accountable for the fact that I am uncertain about appropriate uses of a comma?) But I digress...

Saturday night was the Avett Brothers concert. Our girls slept over at Jamie Denkers house, the only person who might possibly kiss my kids more than I do. She is the absolute epitome of the sweet southern woman. She makes me want to watch Steel Magnolias. We went to dinner at this seafood market downtown which actually turned out to be a stellar place: live jazz, live fish, and corn on the cob that makes me loathe what I have in the freezer.

We have grown to love this band over the last two years. They are clean, their lyrics are meaningful and clever, and they're amazingly talented. I have decided that I will see them every time they come to the city I live in. It was such a fun night. Minus the fact that I went home high. Since we were childless, we had plans to run the streets all night, but I felt so awful from the smoke I had to go home and take a bottle of Ibuprofen and lay on the couch like a sissy.

Anyway- rockin concert, hot date, no kids, good times.

Here's a clip if you've never heard em'...

eAsTeR wEeKeNd...

One day I'm going to make a list of funny things about the Reynolds family. And on that list somewhere will be the fact that no matter how many times you say you will not be attending a family get together, or how far in advance, or with great measures of certainty, it is hardly ever true. You never know who's going to actually show up until the day of, and usually it's at least a majority of the 6 kids. Easter weekend was no exception. We had absoluteley no intentions of going to Florida, we even had other plans. But on Thursday night we got a phone call with promises of gas money and some story about needing a portugues translator for a baptism. I had to laugh. We just can't do it. We can't stay away from each other. It's great.

And now something for the list of funny things about my kids. We can go months and months without being sick. But the very moment that a trip is mentioned somehow instills nausea and fever in my girls. It's like the sound of luggage being drug out causes their noses to run and their throats to hurt. We sat and tried to think of a trip where the kids were healthy and I thought of 1 or 2 when Anabelle was a baby. We had matching little pink outfits for Easter so to take it to the next level we got pink eye to match. Lila threw up on her dress and Anabelle stained hers in 3 places in 10 minutes. On that account, we are foregoing spring family pictures this year and instead searching for a great multi-vitamin and effective stain remover.

We are now in phase 2 of PVS (post-vacation syndrome), which is the denial of reality and an inability to accept that I must resume housekeeping. We feel grateful to be out of phase 1 however, which is covetousness of a huge plot of perfect land. That one's a doosey to get over. And it gets me every time.

Over the mountains and through the woods on Grandmother's bike we go...

So she's a little fluffy, what's the big deal?

No animal will ever starve as long as Anabelle is around. But they're good to her too. She says that "Chief dog shares his bones" with her. Yuck, yuck, yuck.

Lila and Grandpa. Also known as "The Silver Fox". Or "Old Man River". At least in our house he is.

Fairy princess by day, sword wielding pirate by night

A-belle & Tagg, age 2

I pity the fool...

...who dares take on Lila in the Sit-n-reach. I think I've got a future 5th grade field day champ on my hands.


First she reaches spectacular distances to get the desired object, in this case a glass of water. She then folded herself in half in order to slurp her prize. Is she really that thirsty or is she just showing off? Meanwhile, I try to recall the last time I vacuumed that spot in my room.

Look at those splitz!I've been saying she has the body of a ballerina for months. Those teensy little bendy Asians got nothin on this kid.

There were tears...

I found this very hilarious. Braden didn't really seem as entertained. Either it is a Mom thing or I am delirious and need more sleep because I was busting a gut.


Thinking of Having Kids?
Do this 15 step program first!

Lesson 1
1. Go to the grocery store.
2. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.
3. Go home.
4. Pick up the paper.
5. Read it for the last time.

Lesson 2
Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who already are parents and berate them about their...
1. Methods of discipline.
2. Lack of patience.
3. Appallingly low tolerance levels.
4. Allowing their children to run wild.
5. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's breast-feeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall behavior.

Enjoy it because it will be the last time in your life you will have all the answers.

Lesson 3
A really good way to discover how the nights might feel...
1. Get home from work and immediately begin walking around the living room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly. (Eat cold food with one hand for dinner.)
2. At 10PM, put the bag gently down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.
3. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1AM.
4. Set the alarm for 3 AM.
5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink and watch an infomercial.
6. Go to bed at 2:45AM.
7. Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off.
8. Sing songs quietly in the dark until 4AM.
9. Get up. Make breakfast. Get ready for work and go to work (work hard and be productive)

Repeat steps 1-9 each night. Keep this up for 3-5 years. Look cheerful and together.

Lesson 4
Can you stand the mess children make? To find out...
1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains.
2. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.
3. Stick your fingers in the flower bed.
4. Then rub them on the clean walls.
5. Take your favorite book, photo album, etc. Wreck it.
6. Spill milk on your new pillows. Cover the stains with crayons.

How does that look?

Lesson 5
Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems.
1. Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh.
2. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out.

Time allowed for this - all morning.

Lesson 6
1. Take an egg carton. Using a pair of scissors and a jar of paint, turn it into an alligator.
2. Now take the tube from a roll of toilet paper. Using only Scotch tape and a piece of aluminum foil, turn it into an attractive Christmas candle.
3. Last, take a milk carton, a ping-pong ball, and an empty packet of Cocoa Puffs. Make an exact replica of the Eiffel Tower.

Lesson 7
Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don't think that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that.
1. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment. Leave it there.
2. Get a dime. Stick it in the CD player.
3. Take a family size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Sprinkle cheerios all over the floor, then smash them with your foot.
4. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.

Lesson 8
1. Get ready to go out.
2. Sit on the floor of your bathroom reading picture books for half an hour.
3. Go out the front door.
4. Come in again. Go out.
5. Come back in.
6. Go out again.
7. Walk down the front path.
8. Walk back up it.
9. Walk down it again.
10. Walk very slowly down the sidewalk for five minutes.
11. Stop, inspect minutely, and ask at least 6 questions about every cigarette butt, piece of used chewing gum, dirty tissue, and dead insect along the way.
12. Retrace your steps.
13. Scream that you have had as much as you can stand until the neighbors come out and stare at you.
14. Give up and go back into the house.

You are now just about ready to try taking a small child for a walk.

Lesson 9
Repeat everything you have learned at least (if not more than) five times.

Lesson 10
Go to the local grocery store. Take with you the closest thing you can find to a preschool child. (A full-grown goat is an excellent choice). If you intend to have more than one child, then definitely take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

Lesson 11
1. Hollow out a melon.
2. Make a small hole in the side.
3. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side.
4. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane.
5. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone.
6. Tip half into your lap. The other half, just throw up in the air.

You are now ready to feed a nine- month-old baby.

Lesson 12
Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street , Barney, Disney, the Teletubbies, and Pokemon. Watch nothing else on TV but PBS, the Disney channel or Noggin for at least five years. (I know, you're thinking What's 'Noggin'?) Exactly the point.

Lesson 13
Move to the tropics. Find or make a compost pile. Dig down about halfway and stick your nose in it. Do this 3-5 times a day for atleast two years.

Lesson 14
Make a recording of Fran Drescher saying 'mommy' repeatedly. (Important: no more than a four second delay between each 'mommy'; an occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet is required). Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years.

You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.

Lesson 15
Start talking to an adult of your choice. Have someone else continually tug on your skirt hem, shirt-sleeve, or elbow while playing the 'mommy' tape made from Lesson 14 above.

You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.

What a drag

And now for some super annoying news...our blog is going private in the near future. I know, I know, what a hassle. Now it will take 4 seconds to click on our link instead of 1. But, due to the upcoming changes in our lives, I feel that I will sleep better if it is not public knowledge when I am without manly protector for months. So this means that if you still want to e-witness our small circus, you either have to

A) Email me at jkreynolds83@gmail.com
B) Leave your email address as a comment to this post
C) Stop silently stalking us
D) Move in with me when I am all alone and help me keep our socks from sticking to the kitchen floor

Also, it should be said that I am looking for a short term room mate who enjoys cooking gourmet healthy meals daily, scrubbing bathrooms, doing 3 loads of pink laundry each morning, and reads Fox in Socks. I hate that book. Oh, and mops like a champ, hence option D above.

"They needa be with their family"

The other day I tried to explain to Anabelle that whales eat fish. It was a thoughtless move on my part. I know better. I did this while she was playing with her "family of fish" and there happened to be a whale in the bathtub. She burst into tears. She fights the reality of the food chain in a serious way. And this because of her small obsession with the concept of "families". EVERYTHING belongs to a family. My entire house is cluttered with little groupings of items that are lined up and sorted by size, color, species into families. One must be very careful about moving them, talking loudly, or heaven forbid cleaning them up, as you may have happened upon the family during their nap time. Often I am cooking and discover I have absolutely no measuring spoons and must then comb the house for where this particular family may be napping. And the very tricky part is that she has a FREAKISH memory and knows where all her families are and will notice if you remove just one member. Even if it is only a quarter teaspoon. So if you ask her what lions eat, she will tell you they eat lion food. It is the same for every animal. She can't bear the thought of a part of a family being eaten and thus destroying the family. I bought a new pack of hair clips for her and I took one off the cardboard and put it in her hair. Tears. How was I to know that was the Daddy clip? After all, it was pink.

It is mostly entertaining to me, except when I actually need a member of one of her families and am told, "Oh baby can't come. She's with her family right now". May this feeling of family togetherness stick with her through the teenage years.


A pile of sticks and some empty flower pots? No siree. A Daddy, Mommy, and two sister sticks napping near 2 different families of pots. And Daddy pet rock, which she checks on periodically throughout the day.

Anabelle napping with a family of bears. And if you look closely you can see the car family lined up below her.

And yes, although never a thumb sucker in her infancy, she recently started. I told her that only babies suck their thumbs and she told me at Christmas time that she just sucks her thumb like baby Jesus.

Happy Birthday to the hottest, raddest guy ever

Braden turned 28 yesterday. This is the first birthday he seems to be struggling with. He says 28 is the point where you round up and now he's practically 30. What a drama king huh? Personally I think he should enjoy his age and appreciate the advantages of it. I mean imagine if he were 9 months old no matter how high he stretched his arms up in the air, they would still never reach the top of his head. Or imagine crying 13 times during one day. The juice is gone-tears. The movie is over- tears. Your baby bear is missing-tears. He's not even recognizing the fact that although his body may be a bit more achy after sports, at least all his parts are porportionate to one another and his emotions are stable. These are things generally overlooked and thus underappreciated by the bulk of us. Plus, when he is actually in his 30's and karaoke comes up in a casual social setting he can say, "Oh yeah, wow, I did that in my 20's", since we did that this weekend on our birthday getaway trip. He had accumulated Marriott points while working with ESD and I decided to surprise him and use them. The girls had a sleepover at a friends house and we got to have a night to ourselves. For free. (I even had movies and pictures of the girls on the camera which I did not watch once. Go me for detaching myself). It was fabulous. Then last night we had a few friends over for cake and ice cream. And he got two tickets to the Avett Brothers concert in April from his parents. I have to go now. I'm fixing large amounts of cow for dinner followed by a back massage and a car wash because he hasn't said who's he taking yet. Pick me, pick me, pick me, pick me, pick me....

And it should be noted that the title of this post has nothing whatsoever to do with wanting to be picked and should in no way be viewed as "sucking up" or "buttering up". Rather, it only depicts my true and sincere feelings for my adorable and amazing husband on his birthday.

Lila, in general

Little Lila Kristine is 9 months old today. Can I just say, Holy Chickens! How did that happen? I could have baked a whole other person in that time. I haven't, and I feel great about that decision, but you know...I could have.

Let's be clear about one thing-she's a good eater. A few weeks ago at the hospital she weighed 19 pounds. In the last few weeks everywhere we go, everyone comments on how much weight she's gained. And she's still been so happy. If everyone I saw called me fat and grabbed my thighs I don't think I would handle it as graciously. But that's Lila for you.

These last few weeks have been huge for Lila. At the same time she really started to pack on the pounds and look great and healthy, she also seemed to come to life in other aspects. She has started to catch up on everything all of a sudden. She rolls, claps, chats & babbles,puts things to her mouth, self-feeds, yells when you take something from her, and tries to move around. She says, "DaDa", which is super fair because he sees her for 20 minutes a day. But also convenient because when she wakes up at 3am I can say, "Honey, Lila wants you". She also says what sounds exactly like "Li-La". So she's got half the family down.

In the NICU they were always concerned that she didn't cry when she was hungry. She just always hung out, totally chill, and they thought it was tied into her medical mess. I now know that indeed that is just Lila. I go days without hearing her cry. I have to be careful not to take advantage of her goodness and accomadating personality.

Much to our disdain, disgust, & dismay, her favorite food seems to be peas. I tell myself that good moms feed their children peas, so I fight through the smell. But I do think it's very brave of me to do so. Often when I feed her, her eyes start to water and her nose starts to run so she still sees her allergist twice a week. Which I think is helping tremendously.

It seems that she has finally turned the corner and is starting to really thrive. Can you hear my huge sigh of relief? In the beginning the neurologists told us they weren't sure if there was any brain damage, that we would have to see if she met milestones to know. And then she didn't do much for this whole time so I was preparing myself for delays. But now I am hoping that she will continue to progress like she has in these last few weeks.

She and Anabelle crack each other up. It is not uncommon to hear uproarious falsetto laughter from both of them in the back seat or in their room. Is there a better noise? I submit that there is not.

There is no way to describe the way she makes me feel. She absolutely lights me up inside. She has always been such a delightful little soul and her sweetness melts my heart. She radiates love and peace and gentleness.



Good thing she's wearing the headband to keep those luscious locks out of her eyes.

We hear she looks just like her Dad because of her facial expressions

Demonstrating the mad clapping skills

Here's one thing I know about Lila- strawberries and blueberries are something she takes seriously.

Oh how I LOVE the dimples, creases, rolls and chub.

Our favorite new smile that she does. Maybe she's trying to prove that she does have a neck.