Welcome Fall, Baby Dear....

Lately, I have been reminiscent of the early days of my pregannacy. I am remebering being pregnant at this time last year, and longing for that wonderful, magical feeling of holding a life inside of you, growing, nurturing your little pumpkin seed. I absolutely loved being pregnant! It was not like anything I can ever remember feeling, and really, is the most wonderful feeling in the world. I can think of nothing better, outside of holding your little one in your arms. My dear friend is pregnant, and I could not be happier for her, and her family. I must say my joy for her, is bringing back so many memories...I can't imagine never being able to experience that feeling, and I am so thankful that I will have the chance, again, someday to expereince it. I would be pregnant all the time, and have a whole brood of pumpkins if I could. My own little pumpkin patch! I would love to have baby after baby after baby. I can't begin to say how fufilling children are and how they fill your soul with such utter joy and love, you feel as though it will burst and rain down around you. The whole process from start to finish, I love every step.

Sweet baby dear, before you even were, I loved you, before I knew you, I loved you, before you fluttered, moved, kicked, hiccuped. Before you breathed your first breath of life, before you cried your first cry, before I could hold you, as I watched you across the room, I loved you. Before you were mine, I adored you, I worshiped you, I prayed for you, I thanked God for you, I knew I'd lay down my life for you, a million times over. As I held you, watched your tiny chest move up and down, felt your tiny heartbeat, held your tiny hand, I knew that You were mine, and as long as I lived there would never be anything as important as you, as perfect as you. I knew in those moments, you were mine, and I loved you.

The pic of Nik above was taken by my sister-in-law, Rachael, a talented photographer, here is further evidence of her talent http://schiranotriplets.blogspot.com/.

SPLISH, SPLASH!

"HI, I'M BUCKWHEAT!"

Umm, this rubber ducky is mmm, good!

"What are you talking about?! I think my hair looks good like this!"

"Well, you know my name is Simon, and I like to do drawrrrings!"

"Rubber ducky likes it when I eat his bottom, he really does, he told me."

"And the duck stands alone..."

Avid Fan!

"Is that an interception??!!!""

"Whew that was a close one, better watch it Jay."

"I can't watch, I'm so nervous."

"C'mon Olson, pull it together!"

"Wait, what's that inside there? A puppy? How'd they do that? Huh? What? Is that game still on? I'm taking a Time-out, let me know who wins!"

Thanks, Uncle Troy and Aunt Angie for my Bears Cheerleading Uniform! As you can see, I bring the Bears luck! Plus, the Blue and the Orange look so good on me! So much more flattering tham Blue and Silver!!! Don't you think?!

Daddy Day-Yeah!

" I love my Daddy, I love my daddy, I love my daddy, Yeah!!!"

Daddy bought me a pair of jeans and a long sleeve white tee-we won't talk about where he got it. but, Mommy came home, and she said, "What happened to my little girl?"

I had some fun with Sweet Potatoes. And, I am liking them better this time around.






Daddy carried me around in the Baby Bijorn. I was trying to take a nap, I got a little fussy pants!

We should do this "Daddy Days" more often... or once a month would do just fine!

Daddy Day Care!

I have to work one Saturday once a month, and while I hate to do it bc it makes the week that much longer, I get the following Friday off, which means one more day for Nik with family and helps with the cost of Daycare. So, I packed up the diaper bag with all the necessities, including: milk, cereal, diapers, wipes, toys, change of clothes, bibs, burp cloths, pacis, teethers, diaper rash creams, lotions, rattles, blankets, books and I sent the pumpkin off with her Daddy-they were out the door before I left. Daddy is off to get the pumpkin some jeans and some "Daddy Day" clothes, as the clothes Mommy left out for the pumpkin today are "not going to work" for Daddy. I'm a little worried. I somehow have a feeling that I'm going to run into someone I know at a later date and time and they are going to tell me how they ran into my husband, and our son at the store!!! My little pumpkin may look look like a little boy pumpkin when I get home from work!!! I know that Daddy gets a little thrill out of having the pumpkin all to himself for a day!
It reminds me of one of my favorite movies growing up, "Mr. Mom" with Michael Keaton, the country song, "Mr. Mom," and the fond memories I have of my own special "Papa Days" when I was growing up! Life truly is a circle.

"What's Up Doc?!"

I think you remember the "Squash Feet."
A couple days later, we tried carrots, and while the carrots did not elicit quite the same negative reaction and repulsion, they were still not met with quite the same enthusiasm as cereal (which is to be expected). She ate a little, but just sort of swished it around on her tongue, in her mouth, and then drizzled it back out. So, I caved and went back to cereal for a few days. We tried carrots again this weekend, and they were met with more GUSTO this time. We actually make some progress as far as working our way through the package, and the next day as well.
A little bit messy though...




She still wants to feed herself, which I find encouraging, yet, with messy carrots, it makes me a little antsy. I think I am going to start covering her and the high chair in a big plastic drop cloth!!

This is a slightly "jokerish" grin--

I think we will try sweet potatoes again, after some more carrots. We weren't crazy about those either (they came after the Squash).

Baby Blues!

This title has a three-fold purpose. First off, Nik has been a little fussy lately, and it has me concerned. It seems like it has started since I stopped coming to visit her on my lunch break. I have had to start pumping on my lunch hour, and am only allotted two other 20 min intervals in which to pump during my work day. I have tried to set my alarm many times for 2 am to pump, when your milk is most plentiful, but I always hit the snooze button. So, Nik's been a little fussy lately, and she only calms down when she is held. I will not admit to any nonsense that she is being spoiled (Daddy). How can a child that goes to daycare be spoiled? It's virtually impossible. Either way, it has me concerned that something is wrong, and I wish that the little pumpkin could just tell me what it is. I think she is missing her mommy, she is needing more loving, and/or more nourishments. So, today I sent her off with some cereal to eat for lunch in addition to her bottle. We have been feeding her once a day, but maybe it is time to step it up to twice a day, and/or add some more formula to the breastmilk. Yesterday, when I arrived home from work at 6 pm, after stopping at the grocery store, she was screaming when I came through the door, and she had just eaten at 4pm. I was able to calm her, and took her in the nursery to nurse her in the rocking chair. So, our baby has the Baby Blues! It's got me wishing that 1. I could stay home with her. 2. We could afford an in-home nanny, so she could get adequate one on one quality care. 3. That I could pinpoint whether the problem is our current childcare situation, Nik needing her mommy, a nourishment issue, or something else entirely. Could our little pumpkin be getting some little pumpkin toofers soon??





Secondly, the little Pumpkin's eyes are still blue, and has me wondering, when and/or if they are going to change. I think there is still time, so we will just have to see. It will be so strange to one day wake-up and the little pumpkin's eyes will be a different color! Maybe, it will be a gradual change. And, Please make sure you scroll down to the bottom if you haven't heard the song entitled, "Safe in My Arms," it talks about 'Baby Blues'. It reminds me of the pumpkin and brings me to near tears, every time I hear it. It also has autobiographical significance for me, so I am always comforted when I hear it. It is also the theme song on one of my fav blogs, http://lildavismichael.blogspot.com/ which is one of the reasons I was so drawn to the blog/author.



Thirdly, those Baby Blues will be mine one more day a week!!! Daddy has said that Mommy can start staying home one day a week, during her work week to watch the pumpkin and take care of things around the house!!! EEEK!!! Obviously, you can imagine that is somewhat challenging to get everything done when you work 40 hours a week, and try and balance a work life with your home life and family. Obviously, you have to spit yourself between the two, and you end up giving less than you would like of yourself to both causes. Both aspects suffer as a result. I had mastered the role of MOM, then I had to jump back into the WORK LIFE, and it was hard to give 110% to BOTH. I am one of those people who does not like doing anything 1/2 way. If it's not 100%, I don't want anything to do with it. Going back to work as a New Mommy, made that difficult bc you can't be two places at once, and one has to give way to the other, they are going to intertwine and rub/bump each other. Over time, I have managed to better handle the two roles. And now, when I'm at Work, I'm at Work, and when I'm Home, I'm Home, but there are times that they overlap. No one can know the pain of leaving your child with someone else unless you do it every day, and I would not wish that on anyone. And each person's pain and experience with that situation is different and unique to each individual person.

So, I have 5 weeks un-paid family bonding left that I have to use before the pumpkin turns one, and Daddy said that I can start taking one day a week to watch the pumpkin, as long as I am taking care of things around the house:) So, I 'll take what I can get. With some help, maybe the pumpkin will only be attending daycare 2 days a week now!! And that, my friends, is a miracle:

"There are only two ways to live your life. One as though Nothing is a Miracle, the other as though EVERYTHING is a Miracle." Albert Einstein
(That quote is hanging in the pumpkin's nursery).

XXOO