Tulppaani No. 26

Oh how I love the wraps. I started with a Moby (why didn't I have this with Logan? I had pouches, slings, and a bjorn, but not the most comfy baby carriers!), then a Vatanai wrap, and then a Girasol Tulppaani No 26. It is so lovely. So perfectly rainbow colored. How am I affording all these wraps while on maternity leave? Craigslist! I have been selling things that have been lying around the house. And it has been profitable. Hooray! I also did a couple graphic design jobs that brought in a little cash.

Since the girl is a carseat screamer I wear her a lot. A whole lot. We can't push her in a stroller or she will fuss. I wear her around the house too so I can do things with Logan and she will sleep. Sleeping babies are good. Soooooo good. Awake content babies are good too. It works for both. Hooray! Mostly I just like being close to her. She is sweetness.

The boy is 3

THREE!!!????!!! How did that happen? He had an absolutely wonderful birthday, including a fun-filled day at sea.world. He really liked touching the bat rays and the dolphins. We had breakfast with Shamu, and that was really cool. We were so close! He had his typical observer thing going on, so we couldn't tell if he was really into it or not, but I think he had fun.



It was also 85 that day and we were so hot.



Then he had a family birthday meal and celebration. He and I spent Monday making this cake...



And the directions to make it are here. It was delish!

Then Auntie H and Uncle M came over for a party on Friday. Yes, he had a full birthday week. Expect nothing less! Here he is in his super cute hat.



Doesn't he look like such a big kid? Where did my baby go? I think because Aurora is so little, I have been waxing nostalgic about Logan's infancy. I mean, it was no easy stretch there in the beginning, but he was so adorable. And he didn't talk back or kick things. So yeah, times have changed.

Quickly in Aurora news. I got my first giggle out of her tonight. She loves singing, which is quite a switch from her big brother who looked at me like I had three heads when I tried to sing him songs. I will have to get a video of it because she is so cute.

Cute socks, cute dipe

Oh dear. I love girl clothes down to the diaper and socks.

Peek-a-boo

Pictures!

Ah, I see it has been over two weeks since I last posted. Shame on me. The girl is doing well, she is up to 11.5 lbs and is currently asleep in her wrap. Which means she is pressing her nose into my chest as I type. Logan is fighting sleep, kicking around in his room, hoping I will go in there to tell him that a new day has begun. *eye roll*

You might notice that my last post was right before my parents left to go back home. It is a lot of work to watch the two of them by myself--even with daycare. Don is gone twice during the week so I do bedtime by myself. So far it has gone pretty well, in fact much better than I originally envisioned. It is a trick to do it all without losing my cool though, as Logan dilly-dallies once evening rolls around. I love it when tooth brushing lasts 10 minutes, 30 seconds of which consist of the brush actually in his mouth.

Some exciting news is that we are now in cloth diapers 100%. They are nicer to Aurora's skin, and while it is an initial investment, we will save big bucks down the line. She is going through so many diapers at the moment that we easily spend $60 a month keeping her behind covered. The ones we invested in (happy heinys, does every baby product have to have an insanely stupid name?) are all size, pocket dipes. So far, so good. She has a total bubble bum and looks super cute.

We went to the aquarium on Sunday and Logan blew through the exhibits in about 15 minutes. He had a lot of energy and was very excited to see all the fish. "Look at that fish!" was exclaimed at every tank, regardless if there were fish to be seen or not. He especially liked the eels. Though I think he thought they were a bit scary. Here we are in front of their "big" tank. It is a pretty small aquarium, but perfect for a morning out without being overwhelming.

Logan is tollerating being a big brother much better than he was when A first came home (I used to hear "I don't want to be a big brother" many times a day). Mostly he just ignores her, but he loooooves to be my special helper. Especially if he can shove her pacifier in her mouth. Anything that is prefaced by "Can you be my special helper and..." is sure to be met with enthusiasm. Why haven't I exploited this? Foolish.

6, 7, and 10.5

Aurora is 6 weeks old today and currently weighs in at 10.5 lbs. She is gaining like a champ, basically putting on a half a pound a week. Go kiddo go! She really is an easy baby and has begun to stretch out her night time sleep. She went 7 hours one night and regularly goes 5 hours now. Why do I still feel so tired?

I haven't gotten photographic evidence yet, but today she began smiling. Reproducible, cute, amazing smiles. She flashed one at Logan this morning and then at the ceiling fan and Grammy later on. What is it about babies and ceiling fans?

Logan also had a big day, he got a HAIRCUT. And that is in all caps because it is so short. I told the lady that I wanted to keep a lot of length on top, but she just kept going. Ah well, hair grows. I don't hate it, but it will certainly take some getting used to. It is better than it was before I took him in though, it was looking truly yuck.

My parents leave in less than 48 hours and I am really going to miss them. They have helped us (me especially) out so much both in general and with the kids that it will be a totally different experience when they are gone. I need to get into a routine of some sort, so that I get out of the house and see other people during the day. Otherwise I may go crazy. Or spend all our money at Target.

Avoidance, vigilance and, finally, acceptance

So I have tried desperately to avoid getting sick prior to having A, then after. Cause, you know, a sick newborn is no one's idea of fun. And taking care of a newborn while sick is only slightly less undesirable. Well, everyone but A got a cold this weekend. With the unseasonably warm weather (a Santa Anna that has lasted for-freaking-ever) I knew it was coming. Yes, I should be thankful for the 70-80 degree temps while the rest of the country suffers through terrible snow and cold, but I knew we were going to get sick so that kind of takes the shine off it.

Anyway, Logan had the worst of it on Monday, including a fever in the afternoon/evening. Nothing crazy bad, just warm and part of a cold. Or so we thought until we commented on a little pimple that showed up on his lip yesterday or maybe this morning (the timing is still under discussion). Then while we were eating lunch at the Children's Museum--which is amazing and very fun--Don noticed blisters on L's hands. Yes, blisters. On his hands. Combine that with the pimple, aka BLISTER, on his lip, and the fever on Monday, you have Hand, Foot, and Mouth! Awesome! So now we are on lock-down (sorry parents and kids of San Diego who went to the museum today, *blushes with embarrassment and shame*), and hoping against hope that Aurora doesn't get it too. Oh please do not let her get it!

*sigh*

Overheard

While watching the inauguration this morning:

Logan: Obama is good!

Me: Yes, we like Obama.

L: Obama will bring us presents!

Me: Well, he won't bring us presents to unwrap, but he will give us ways to make our lives better.

L: Yeah, he is going to bring us presents!!!

Me: He isn't Santa Logan.

L: Santa!

Noteworthy

This baby spits up so. dang. much. So much I am always sure that she is about to empty her stomach contents on me. And I am usually not wrong.

New name, new reality

Still alive, hanging in, and feeling totally overwhelmed with the stuff that needs to be recorded for posterity here on the old blog.

First, it was getting pictures off the camera, onto the computer, edited, named, uploaded to flickr, and then posted here. Do you see all those steps? Anyone who knows me can see this process is fraught with pitfalls. Too many places to get tangled up and abandon ship. But I did manage to get a few...







And I even took a belly shot the day before giving birth so this girl wouldn't think she didn't come from me. I can very much assure her that she did in fact grow in me...



Then it was coming up with a new name. Not sold on what I came up with, but it will do for now. 

So the nutshell version is that I had a very quick labor and delivery (if you don't count the all-day contractions the Thursday before she was born), we got into the birth center no problem, and she was here before we even had time to fret. Mostly. We were home by noon on Sunday and the wonderful and magnificent H was then free to go home after watching Logan while we were in the birth center. 

I have had loads of help - my parents are here through January and Don's mom just left after staying a week. Don is off until the last week in January and Logan is still going to Ms. T's 2-3 days a week. When I am alone with the baby I wonder why I ever thought it was hard to have just Logan. Of course I had no *freaking* clue what I was doing when L was little and A is a very easy baby thus far (knock on wood) so the comparison isn't fair. I have yet to watch the two kids on my own and I am seriously wondering how that is going to work out. Thankfully I have time before I have to deal with that scenario.

So yeah. Christmas was good, plentiful, and seemingly never-ending. New Years Eve was nice and low-key. We got a Wii and we are totally loving it. I think that sums it up! Ha!

Next up... Logan starts telling jokes. So dang cute.

She's Here!

We are pleased to announce that we have a new addition to our family. Aurora Ellen Masse-Brown, aka baby sharky", was born at 2:26am Saturday December 20. Mommy and baby are doing very well. Carrie's water broke at around 1130, we were at the birth center by around 1245, and Aurora came into the outside world not even 2 hours later! Carrie did a wonderful job bringing Aurora into the world naturally. Aurora has been busy nursing ever since- a stretch, but not much...
Logan was very sweet when he met his baby sister this morning.
Big thanks to Auntie Heather for coming over late last night and taking such good care of the boy today.
Pics will follow soon.

False alarm

Argh! I had (timeable and somewhat painful) contractions from 10 am yesterday morning until 2:30 am last night. And now? Nothing. Well, one, maybe two contractions an hour. Darn it! I think I jinxed it by rolling Sunshine's hair off our hospital bag. That and putting H and our doula on standby. I can console myself with knowing it can't be too long now...

Appointment

I had a midwife appointment yesterday where I was hoping to hear, OMG that baby is coming right now! As you can guess, that wasn't the message I received. Basically she said she was "unimpressed" with my cervix. Crud. I know things can change on a dime, but I doubt there will be a baby this weekend. We shall see...

Can you believe Christmas is in one week? That hardly seems possible. Logan is coming to my office pot luck today, so that should be fun. He goes to many of my work functions and is usually very well behaved. The only bummer is that my boss P won't be there, so he won't get to see her.

So that's that. Don and I are totally amazed that we are in the position of wanting a baby to come out rather than needing it to stay in. Feel free to send *come out baby* energy my way, I certainly won't turn it away!

Logan love

Yesterday at dinner Logan told me he is proud of me. So cute! He couldn't tell me why, but he knows it is something important and good. *swoon* He has also recently been saying to me "Mom, I love you more." Then we get into a "no, I love you more" argument. The best kind to have!

I was hoping for some clairvoyance last night and asked Logan when I am going to have this baby. He told me "Wednesday." So that is either today or next week. Hmmmm...I am not sure he knows when or what Wednesday is.

Rain again today. I am so thankful that Don didn't have to drive in it to his final class last night. You wouldn't believe how freaked out everyone here gets from water on the road. There were over 15 accidents reported on the radio this morning. And I fear I am turning SoCal too. Pathetic!

Flying

Time that is. I can't believe it has been a week since my last post!

No baby yet, and I can't imagine Sharkey will be coming anytime soon. It is just so high and I have no indication that it is ready to make its move. Once we make it through today it can come anytime without causing logistical issues. Don has his last drawing class tonight, and once that is over then we are home free. I do have a holiday party on Thursday that I would like to attend, but I wouldn't be sad to have a baby instead!

In other news, our stove was delivered! The crap under the old stove was truly frightening. I can't even think about it without shivering a bit. Yuck. The people who lived here before must have been purposefully stuffing things underneath. Anyway, the new stove is nice and matches our other appliances, so all is good.

Logan is doing great. He is totally clueless about both Christmas and the upcoming sibling arrival. I mean, he sees the tree and likes the holidays, but I don't think he knows he will be opening presents Christmas morning. Better to keep it that way for now, lest he get too unruly. Especially if Christmas needs to be postponed.

So that is pretty much it. Nothing terribly exciting and we are happy about that. For now. Ask me in a week, and, if I still don't have a baby in my arms, I might just lose my mind.

Well I thought I was being nice

Yeah, it seems I may have hit the crabby stage of this pregnancy. Don may feel that I have been here for a while, but really I don't think it has ever been as bad as this week. The worst is that I feel like a totally reasonable person and I am in complete control. This makes it kind of hard to head it off, and then I don't even apologize immediately. In fact, I kind of feel justified in whatever overly blunt comment I have made. So I should probably limit face time with, um, everyone?

In other news, we got a bill from a collection agency today for Logan's birth . LOGAN'S BIRTH! Seriously we have never seen it before and I am 1000% sure we paid it, oh, almost THREE years ago. Puh-leeze! Let's see them try and mess with me now.

Monday, monday

Here I am at work for another week. Today we meet my potential replacement (potential, but also the only one in the running, so you can guess how potential he actually is). I really hope we like him and he can do the minimal admin/data entry type stuff we need him to provide. I am sure it will all work out fine. Right?

We had a really nice weekend. We went to the zoo on Saturday and Don hung up our outdoor xmas lights. They look so much better than last year because we replaced the crazy flashing icicle-type lights that were seizure inducing. This year things look much more peaceful and Don said he only swore once when putting them up. That is the same as my xmas tree swearing, so overall we did really well with the potty mouths this year.

Yesterday we just hung around watching football. Poor Logan could have really used some outdoor time, but he was deprived. He did get a haircut, which was desperately needed. I thought he looked like Rob R.einer's Meathead from All in the Family. It is much better now, though Don hates that any hair gets cut at all. *eye roll*

So that is that. Nothing is going on here, other than last minute xmas wrapping and such. Oh, and we have to buy a stove tonight. Ours is officially not something I want in my house any more. So merry xmas to us. Woo hoo.

Is it really December?

Because really, I have seen two butterflies in the last week. Butterflies! Very pretty yellow ones. We also have hibiscus (a mother's day present that has been wonderful), purple sage, iris, and jade blooming. Oh, and I am looking out my office window and there is the most gorgeous fuchsia rose blossoming right now. I also see barbed wire fence, so don't get too jealous. That is not to say it hasn't cooled off some, I actually need a sweatshirt in the mornings and evenings.

So clearly, I am still here. I will check in on the blog often, so you all know the latest and greatest news. Lucky you! I have a midwife appointment this afternoon, but I don't expect anything new to come out of it. I have asked Logan a bunch of times if this new babe is a boy or a girl and he always says girl. Hmmmm... I am having very strong boy feelings, so who knows. Don has no intuition either way (surprise surprise). Even though Logan says it is a girl, he also insists he wants a brother. I tried to tell him both was a bit of a stretch, but he wouldn't listen. Hee hee!

A few Logan-isms for fun...

• He happily tells anyone when out and about he is wearing his "new super fast brown shoes." Ah new shoes, they are wonderful, aren't they?
• When he wakes up from sleeping and I go in to get him from his room he always tells me "I can't sleep anymore" and will not believe me that he just woke up from a long nap. Uh, ok.
• My lovely boss P gave him some new cars, one of which is a tar covered L!ghtening Mc.Queen. He makes up elaborate scenes with these new cars including a dramatic fall into a cactus patch like the movie. So cute!
• I am no longer Mommy. Yes, my not-even-3-yr-old is calling me Mom. Don is Dad. Wha? I thought I had years before he would make the switch. Though yesterday he would only call me Mama, I think this was just a fluke. I am still no where near ready for Mom.

Made it!

Whew! 37 weeks today. Such a huge milestone for us, as it means I can actually give birth in the place I want with the people that have been caring for me since my first 6 week appointment. Hooray!!! That said, I don't think this little one is coming any time soon. Still up high, and no contractions at all. Fine with me! I'll take a couple more weeks. I know how much easier it is to have them inside. Though I would like to get my body back so I can, you know, put on socks without it being a major production.

This experience is just so much different than what we had with Logan. I was cuddling him last night (he actually let me), telling him that he gave us a run for our money when he was first born. His underwhelmed response was "Yeah." Someday he will like to hear the story of how he was born, but for now building tunnels for his cars and driving pretend delivery trucks is more interesting.

Still here

We are still hanging in, not much new to report. Had a good weekend looking at boats and walking by the waterfront. Tried to replace our area rug, but found out it is going to cost a lot more than we were expecting. Put up the xmas decorations and tree (whee!).

One thing L has been doing lately is asking "What's that?" A LOT. And not pointing to or elaborating on what he is talking about. It is frustrating to say the least, especially when he can answer his own question 98% of the time.

He also calls construction vehicles "constructions." Don and I agree that we won't be able to pass a group of backhoes, payloaders, and cherry pickers without referring to them as constructions for a long long time.

26 hours to go and I am 37 weeks. Eeeek!