I miss you. I am writing you this letter and sending it in a bottle in joyful hope that you will one day return to me. Even though I cannot see you I know that you are there just hiding in the depths of my excess fat.
Body, I apologize for saying hateful things to you in the past. I never appreciated your beauty. Instead of appreciating a butt so tight I could bounce a quarter off of it, I called it "ghetto booty" and other degrading names. Sure you had your shortcomings like being a total height of 5'2'' with, like, seven inch toes, but we could live with that! Please come back to me and I promise I will treat you better. I will buy you nice things and I will wear sunscreen. I will take you for walks and drink more water. I will stop using salt as a condiment.
To my jawline, I can feel you when I press hard enough, and I can see you when I pull the skin on my face to the back of my head. I do hope that one day we will be reunited and we will smile to the camera with pride. To my arms, it seems that the turkey gobbled up your triceps. To my belly... oh my poor, poor belly. Where six beautiful abdominal muscles once stood proud and united, I am left with one large layer of fat with an unfortunate looking line running through the center. To my hips, remember when you liked one another and sat close enough to fit into a pair of Express jeans? Do you really want to shop at JC Penney for the rest of our lives? To my thighs, you always sucked, but now you especially suck. Stop rubbing together already! And to my feet, you are doing a great job carrying around all of this extra weight and I solemnly swear that I will do everything in my power to relieve you of your heavy burden... right after I put down this brownie.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Austin
We had a great time in Austin visiting the McIvor's. The flights went pretty smoothly, and I think that we were far more anxious than Chloe, who acted as if she flew everyday. On the flight to Austin Chloe woke up just before boarding and she was STARVING. When you travel with a baby they send you all the way to the back of the plane to a seat that has three oxygen masks. So we carried our screaming baby all the way to the back of the plane leaving a trail of disappointment on the faces of our fellow travelers. Once she was settled and had a little something to eat she didn't make a peep for the rest of the flight. Here she is on her first flight.
In Austin we went barbecue hopping and hit five of Texas' popular BBQ joints. We ordered 1/2 pound of brisket, a 1/2 rack of ribs, and sausage at each place. My favorite was Black's BBQ because they had this awesome smoked turkey. Here we are on the tour:
On days that we weren't feasting on ribs and brisket we relaxed by the pool. We tried to go to Easter Vigil to watch Michael make his confirmation, but we made it two minutes into church (no joke!) before Chloe started screaming. I tried to feed her and change her, but a half hour later we had to leave. On Easter Sunday we grilled at the pool despite the weather being a bit overcast and rainy.
I never got a picture of Chloe in her Easter dress since it was on for only a minute and she was screaming the entire time. I didn't get a picture of her with the Easter Bunny, either. I'm disappointed about both, but I did manage a picture of her in this bib. It's cute enough to make up for the missed photo ops.
Michael gave Paul his fourth tattoo that I helped pick out. Very cool!
The best part is that Chloe got to meet her big cousins and we got a lot of cuddle time with Henry.
Oh and Paul discovered this feature on our camera that is now the object of his obsession...
Needless to say, Chloe was a tired girl!!
All in all it was a fun trip!
In Austin we went barbecue hopping and hit five of Texas' popular BBQ joints. We ordered 1/2 pound of brisket, a 1/2 rack of ribs, and sausage at each place. My favorite was Black's BBQ because they had this awesome smoked turkey. Here we are on the tour:
On days that we weren't feasting on ribs and brisket we relaxed by the pool. We tried to go to Easter Vigil to watch Michael make his confirmation, but we made it two minutes into church (no joke!) before Chloe started screaming. I tried to feed her and change her, but a half hour later we had to leave. On Easter Sunday we grilled at the pool despite the weather being a bit overcast and rainy.
I never got a picture of Chloe in her Easter dress since it was on for only a minute and she was screaming the entire time. I didn't get a picture of her with the Easter Bunny, either. I'm disappointed about both, but I did manage a picture of her in this bib. It's cute enough to make up for the missed photo ops.
Michael gave Paul his fourth tattoo that I helped pick out. Very cool!
The best part is that Chloe got to meet her big cousins and we got a lot of cuddle time with Henry.
Oh and Paul discovered this feature on our camera that is now the object of his obsession...
Needless to say, Chloe was a tired girl!!
All in all it was a fun trip!
Chloe - 3 Months
It has been a very big month for Chloe between her first flight, daycare, sleeping in her crib, and, more importantly, sleeping through the night.
When we got back from Austin Paul decided it was time for Chloe to sleep in her crib. To do this he insisted that we use a little tough love. She cried for about 45 minutes before falling asleep the first night we stuck her in there. I was a nervous wreck. The second night she cried on and off for about a half hour and by the third night she was asleep in five minutes. A week later she wasn't fussing at all. The big bonus of putting Chloe in her crib is that she sleeps through the night. The first few nights she slept 8 or 9 hours and Paul and I woke up high fiving. She is sleeping 8 to 10 hours at night and we could not be happier. We feel like real people again. Rested, sane, real people. It is wonderful.
I have yet had the time to stop in at daycare to see Chloe, but from the sound of things I really think that Chloe enjoys being there. When I dropped Chloe off on Wednesday she started smiling and cooing right when she saw Melissa. Then when I picked her up in the afternoon, Melissa said that Chloe had the best day ever. She said she felt like they were comfortable with one another and that Chloe smiled the whole day. Melissa said tha Chloe loves watching the other kids play with instruments and she said that the kids love the new baby! In fact, she said she spends a lot of time telling the kids to "stay away from the baby's face" and to "be gentle."
At three months Chloe weighs about 12 pounds. I know this because I took her to the doctor last week. Chloe ended up catching a cold last weekend and she has a nasty dog cough. The nurse suggested we bring her in just to be sure everything is okay. Turns out she just has a bad cold and the doctor recommended we keep Chloe upright 24/7, which seems to be working fairly well.
Chloe is wearing 3-6 month clothing, although it is a little big on her. She wears size 1 diapers. She seems to be getting so big, but she is still really just a little peanut compared to similar aged babies. I still think she looks like me from the nose down and Paul from the nose up. Except for in this picture where I think she looks exactly like me:
Oh, and the Texas sun gave her hair a bit of an aburn hue. Oli said "Oh no, I don't want her to have red hair!" Before I dyed my hair all of the time I had a bit of red in my hair. My mom has red hair and so does her dad and so it is very possible that Chloe could have aburn hair, as well. It is a red that people pay a lot of money for, but I still hope she ends up with brown or blond hair! She still has blue eyes and dark skin.
I think at this point in her life I would classify Chloe as being a nosy baby. She likes to be held facing out so that she can see everything all of the time. But be careful, baby girl doesn't like people all up in her face. Sometimes if you try to stick your ugly mug in her face she will just turn away until you leave her alone. When she wants to look at you and talk to you she will do it on her own terms. She can keep herself busy playing in her play yard or looking at her mobile for at least a half hour before she gets bored. And she lets us know when she is bored!
Chloe still eats from my "thingy thing" as Oli calls it. I have to pump at work so that Chloe can have breastmilk for daycare. I have a very funny story to share about pumping at work when I have some time to post. Chloe eats 2.5 to 3 ounces every 2 to 3 hours. I'm still the milk lady! Here are some three month pictures.
And no matter what I do these photos will not rotate, but they are still so cute!
When we got back from Austin Paul decided it was time for Chloe to sleep in her crib. To do this he insisted that we use a little tough love. She cried for about 45 minutes before falling asleep the first night we stuck her in there. I was a nervous wreck. The second night she cried on and off for about a half hour and by the third night she was asleep in five minutes. A week later she wasn't fussing at all. The big bonus of putting Chloe in her crib is that she sleeps through the night. The first few nights she slept 8 or 9 hours and Paul and I woke up high fiving. She is sleeping 8 to 10 hours at night and we could not be happier. We feel like real people again. Rested, sane, real people. It is wonderful.
I have yet had the time to stop in at daycare to see Chloe, but from the sound of things I really think that Chloe enjoys being there. When I dropped Chloe off on Wednesday she started smiling and cooing right when she saw Melissa. Then when I picked her up in the afternoon, Melissa said that Chloe had the best day ever. She said she felt like they were comfortable with one another and that Chloe smiled the whole day. Melissa said tha Chloe loves watching the other kids play with instruments and she said that the kids love the new baby! In fact, she said she spends a lot of time telling the kids to "stay away from the baby's face" and to "be gentle."
At three months Chloe weighs about 12 pounds. I know this because I took her to the doctor last week. Chloe ended up catching a cold last weekend and she has a nasty dog cough. The nurse suggested we bring her in just to be sure everything is okay. Turns out she just has a bad cold and the doctor recommended we keep Chloe upright 24/7, which seems to be working fairly well.
Chloe is wearing 3-6 month clothing, although it is a little big on her. She wears size 1 diapers. She seems to be getting so big, but she is still really just a little peanut compared to similar aged babies. I still think she looks like me from the nose down and Paul from the nose up. Except for in this picture where I think she looks exactly like me:
Oh, and the Texas sun gave her hair a bit of an aburn hue. Oli said "Oh no, I don't want her to have red hair!" Before I dyed my hair all of the time I had a bit of red in my hair. My mom has red hair and so does her dad and so it is very possible that Chloe could have aburn hair, as well. It is a red that people pay a lot of money for, but I still hope she ends up with brown or blond hair! She still has blue eyes and dark skin.
I think at this point in her life I would classify Chloe as being a nosy baby. She likes to be held facing out so that she can see everything all of the time. But be careful, baby girl doesn't like people all up in her face. Sometimes if you try to stick your ugly mug in her face she will just turn away until you leave her alone. When she wants to look at you and talk to you she will do it on her own terms. She can keep herself busy playing in her play yard or looking at her mobile for at least a half hour before she gets bored. And she lets us know when she is bored!
Chloe still eats from my "thingy thing" as Oli calls it. I have to pump at work so that Chloe can have breastmilk for daycare. I have a very funny story to share about pumping at work when I have some time to post. Chloe eats 2.5 to 3 ounces every 2 to 3 hours. I'm still the milk lady! Here are some three month pictures.
And no matter what I do these photos will not rotate, but they are still so cute!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Girls' Night
Last night my Bradley girls, Sally, Monica, and I went out for a grown up evening - one where we intended to talk about grown up things, but inevitably trailed off to conversations about milk letdown, teething, and daycare... things like that. Our two hour dinner date spilled over to a five hour dinner date with wine and dessert because, as it turns out, we didn't die from the extended separation from our precious babies. I laughed so much I cried and I realize that - WOW - I needed that!
I woke up this morning so refreshed and gushed to Paul about the fun we had. And then I got to thinking about something I am always doing to people. For some reason when I introduce new people I always introduce them and then quickly follow up with some tidbit that I think will get the two talking. For Paul I always say "This is my husband, Paul. He played football for Western." And for Sally last night I said "This is my friend, Sally. She is a vegetarian." The reason I said that last night was because I was introducing her to another vegetarian. And since I have only knowingly met two vegetarians in my life I thought this was truly remarkable. Surly the stars aligned last night so that the only two vegetarians in.the.world could find one another! So first let me apologize, Sally. I don't mean to introduce you like "Hi, this is my alien friend. She eats plants, runs a community garden, and uses cloth diapers." I just grew up in a family that each summer went to the fair, picked out a nice juicy cow, butchered that cow, and then ate the shit out of that cow! And I'm devastated even thinking about how a person could go a whole summer without cutting into a nice, bloody steak or without sinking her teeth into a juicy burger.
Far more important than meat, we were missing Sarah last night. Her mother-in-law passed away of a heart attack earlier this week. In her beautiful obituary I learned that she was a super kind, healthy, and loving woman, and her death is both a shock and a tragedy. I have been praying a lot for her family this week and thanking God for my own mother. My heart aches for them. That is the thing about making new friends. You open yourself up to a world of love and laughter, but you also open yourself up to share in their heartache. It is difficult to understand death even when I have such great faith God and His plan, but I pray that Sarah and Nate are able to cling to God for comfort. "The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those who are crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:18
I woke up this morning so refreshed and gushed to Paul about the fun we had. And then I got to thinking about something I am always doing to people. For some reason when I introduce new people I always introduce them and then quickly follow up with some tidbit that I think will get the two talking. For Paul I always say "This is my husband, Paul. He played football for Western." And for Sally last night I said "This is my friend, Sally. She is a vegetarian." The reason I said that last night was because I was introducing her to another vegetarian. And since I have only knowingly met two vegetarians in my life I thought this was truly remarkable. Surly the stars aligned last night so that the only two vegetarians in.the.world could find one another! So first let me apologize, Sally. I don't mean to introduce you like "Hi, this is my alien friend. She eats plants, runs a community garden, and uses cloth diapers." I just grew up in a family that each summer went to the fair, picked out a nice juicy cow, butchered that cow, and then ate the shit out of that cow! And I'm devastated even thinking about how a person could go a whole summer without cutting into a nice, bloody steak or without sinking her teeth into a juicy burger.
Far more important than meat, we were missing Sarah last night. Her mother-in-law passed away of a heart attack earlier this week. In her beautiful obituary I learned that she was a super kind, healthy, and loving woman, and her death is both a shock and a tragedy. I have been praying a lot for her family this week and thanking God for my own mother. My heart aches for them. That is the thing about making new friends. You open yourself up to a world of love and laughter, but you also open yourself up to share in their heartache. It is difficult to understand death even when I have such great faith God and His plan, but I pray that Sarah and Nate are able to cling to God for comfort. "The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those who are crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:18
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Back to Work
Yesterday was my first day back at work. I dropped Chloe off at daycare at 7:30 am after squeezing her tight for a half hour. I did my best not to cry, but ended up in tears as I walked out the door. I know that she is in loving hands and that I do not have to worry about her safety, but I missed her chubby cheeks all day long. Our daycare lady, Melissa, is so kind and she spent a good ten minutes on the phone with me telling me all about Chloe's day and about how sweet and adorable she is. It is nice to hear how much Melissa cares about her already and I feel a little more at ease. Melissa said that Chloe only fussed a little in the afternoon. She said that she could tell Chloe just wasn't settled in her new environment. After trying to feed her, bounce her, change her, etc. she decided to set her in her car seat and she fell asleep right away. I told her that she loves that darn car seat!
Today I have the day off because we weren't able to line up daycare on Tuesdays. I'm so grateful to be home with her. In the short term, I am able to work 4 hours in the morning while Chloe sleeps and I'm sure I will be able to squeeze in a few more in the afternoon if needed. She goes back to daycare tomorrow and then my mom is coming on Thursday and Friday. My mom is super excited to come watch Chloe and I will be so happy to know that my baby girl is getting Grandma's love. Plus, I'll get to work from home on those days if I want and then I'll be able to sneak in a few cuddles here and there!
Today I have the day off because we weren't able to line up daycare on Tuesdays. I'm so grateful to be home with her. In the short term, I am able to work 4 hours in the morning while Chloe sleeps and I'm sure I will be able to squeeze in a few more in the afternoon if needed. She goes back to daycare tomorrow and then my mom is coming on Thursday and Friday. My mom is super excited to come watch Chloe and I will be so happy to know that my baby girl is getting Grandma's love. Plus, I'll get to work from home on those days if I want and then I'll be able to sneak in a few cuddles here and there!
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