20 October, 2010
ONE DINNER, TWO GIRLS
Tonight was "Ladies' Night" at our home. Dad had to work late, so G & I were on our own... and for the first time, we shared a dinner. We had couscous with sauteed zucchini, beets, and slices of apple. And G ate a little bit of each thing - like a champ. It was a nice glimpse of things ahead, when making one meal for the whole family to share will become a nightly ritual.
16 October, 2010
MY 30TH YEAR
A reflection on my 30th year as I embark on my 31st... whew!
Around the time I was turning the big 3-0, I saw the first "photo" of my daughter. She was in the womb, hand in front of her face, but it still melted my heart. I helped to open a new musical in a 62-seat theatre. And I celebrated with my big day with this guy. This guy. And this guy.
The next month was a whirlwind of childbirth classes, getting on our first wait list for a day care we didn't end up using, I stumbled across my favorite pregnancy cartoon, and we had a beautiful celebration in Ohio for all of my family and friends to meet the amazing man I love and to send good wishes to my soon-to-be-born baby girl... oh, and Thanksgiving dinner was delicious.
Then there was the purchase of our first Christmas tree together, and a pre-natal massage (SO GOOD), and a surprise baby shower at work; we graduated from childbirth school feeling almost prepared, we saw Avatar, and I woke up on Christmas morning not in my childhood home as I had the previous 29 years, but in my own home, away from my family... and with new/more members of family.
After the new year, I finally made it to "full term" and the Braxton Hicks were in full force; we re-covered a car seat, we found the god-send day care superhero Mary Anne, and I had my last day at work before my maternity leave began; I was invited to join a Moms Blog and write from the perspective of a new mother in NYC... which was, conveniently, just before my laptop died. And our due date for our baby girl came and went.
The day before Groundhog Day, our incredible daughter was born. And less than a week later, she watched her first Superbowl, cheering on the Saints. She met her Grammy & PopPi and then she met her Grandma & Papa... and we, as new parents, we so grateful to have our own parents there with us for those few weeks.
The next month, Aunt Allie & Uncle Kyle visited and so did Aunt Meghann. I discovered a few international bloggers I enjoyed and Baby G slept through the night for the first time. And then I began - slowly - to return to work.
April showers brought May flowers and spring was upon us - we got engaged on Easter morning (what a rebirth indeed!) and branded ourselves with a logo. My writing was picking up, as I reformatted my blog and went to my first blogger event (coming away with a bunch of "swag"). Then just a few months after I joined, the NYC Moms Blog ended and I joined a new "book review" group called From Left to Write - in an effort not to lose all "adult" conversation after becoming a mama.
On June 18th we had a ceremony to mark our wedding; on June 20th we had a ceremony to mark our baby's baptism. It could not have been a more perfect weekend.
At the end of the summer, we drove up to Vermont and spent a weekend with family... where G started to "bunny hop" (her first motion toward crawling) and went "swimming" for the first time. We also started reading books like this and this, effectively upending our life of ignorant bliss and starting us on a journey of "locavorism" and sanctioning factory farms.
As my favorite season of autumn came back around, I learned to ask for help from a husband (and a daughter) who has become more dear to me every day. I'm still struggling to finish up thank you notes from our wedding, the baptism, and even some from pre-natal baby showers (you've got one year, isn't that right?)! Work has been busy for both of us parents, and Baby G spends 5 days a week at a delightful day care (where they must sing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" every morning because it's by far her favorite song right now).
And these are only the blessings I wrote down! There are so many more... and I am grateful for each one. Not sure how year 31 could get any better. And it doesn't need to - I'll just enjoy the goods I've got :)
Around the time I was turning the big 3-0, I saw the first "photo" of my daughter. She was in the womb, hand in front of her face, but it still melted my heart. I helped to open a new musical in a 62-seat theatre. And I celebrated with my big day with this guy. This guy. And this guy.
The next month was a whirlwind of childbirth classes, getting on our first wait list for a day care we didn't end up using, I stumbled across my favorite pregnancy cartoon, and we had a beautiful celebration in Ohio for all of my family and friends to meet the amazing man I love and to send good wishes to my soon-to-be-born baby girl... oh, and Thanksgiving dinner was delicious.
Then there was the purchase of our first Christmas tree together, and a pre-natal massage (SO GOOD), and a surprise baby shower at work; we graduated from childbirth school feeling almost prepared, we saw Avatar, and I woke up on Christmas morning not in my childhood home as I had the previous 29 years, but in my own home, away from my family... and with new/more members of family.
After the new year, I finally made it to "full term" and the Braxton Hicks were in full force; we re-covered a car seat, we found the god-send day care superhero Mary Anne, and I had my last day at work before my maternity leave began; I was invited to join a Moms Blog and write from the perspective of a new mother in NYC... which was, conveniently, just before my laptop died. And our due date for our baby girl came and went.
The day before Groundhog Day, our incredible daughter was born. And less than a week later, she watched her first Superbowl, cheering on the Saints. She met her Grammy & PopPi and then she met her Grandma & Papa... and we, as new parents, we so grateful to have our own parents there with us for those few weeks.
The next month, Aunt Allie & Uncle Kyle visited and so did Aunt Meghann. I discovered a few international bloggers I enjoyed and Baby G slept through the night for the first time. And then I began - slowly - to return to work.
April showers brought May flowers and spring was upon us - we got engaged on Easter morning (what a rebirth indeed!) and branded ourselves with a logo. My writing was picking up, as I reformatted my blog and went to my first blogger event (coming away with a bunch of "swag"). Then just a few months after I joined, the NYC Moms Blog ended and I joined a new "book review" group called From Left to Write - in an effort not to lose all "adult" conversation after becoming a mama.
On June 18th we had a ceremony to mark our wedding; on June 20th we had a ceremony to mark our baby's baptism. It could not have been a more perfect weekend.
At the end of the summer, we drove up to Vermont and spent a weekend with family... where G started to "bunny hop" (her first motion toward crawling) and went "swimming" for the first time. We also started reading books like this and this, effectively upending our life of ignorant bliss and starting us on a journey of "locavorism" and sanctioning factory farms.
As my favorite season of autumn came back around, I learned to ask for help from a husband (and a daughter) who has become more dear to me every day. I'm still struggling to finish up thank you notes from our wedding, the baptism, and even some from pre-natal baby showers (you've got one year, isn't that right?)! Work has been busy for both of us parents, and Baby G spends 5 days a week at a delightful day care (where they must sing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" every morning because it's by far her favorite song right now).
And these are only the blessings I wrote down! There are so many more... and I am grateful for each one. Not sure how year 31 could get any better. And it doesn't need to - I'll just enjoy the goods I've got :)
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