The story of one little family, three little boys, and our many adventures in DC and beyond.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
David & Jen's Wedding
This past weekend we celebrated David & Jen's wedding festivities, beginning with the rehearsal dinner on Friday.
While they were dressed up, we got in some picture time with Amelia & Owen, Chase's adorable cousins.
Not only is she cute, Amelia is also a great big cousin. She takes very good care of her "Chase-y" and kept him entertained all weekend.
Owen wasn't quite as interested in Chase, but boy does he have a lot of things to teach his little cousin once he can walk/run/climb!
Chase spent the rehearsal dinner in the arms of people who love him, like Uncle Timmy...
Daddy (who cheers-ed with milk)
Aunt Lisa
Uncle Matt
And, of course, Uncle Reverend Ray!
By Saturday afternoon, Chase had recovered from Friday and was ready for the wedding.
Then the fire alarm went off (the bride and groom both swear they didn't pull it!) and we were moved outside. Chase was very awake after that.
Amelia was a great flower girl
And even stopped at the end of our aisle so her mommy could take her picture
And the bride looked beautiful in her red dress! (I'll put more pictures on Kodak Gallery and send them out)
Chase was very well-behaved. He was entertained by lots of people sitting behind us (thank you!) and quiet until he realized his voice echoed in the church. So we did a lot of bouncing and I whispered songs into his ear.
After the ceremony, Chase hung out with a babysitter while we all went to the reception. He was very good and was sleeping soundly when we got home.
But at 6:45am, he was ready to go again!
(his parents are still recovering)
Congratulations, David & Jen!
While they were dressed up, we got in some picture time with Amelia & Owen, Chase's adorable cousins.
Not only is she cute, Amelia is also a great big cousin. She takes very good care of her "Chase-y" and kept him entertained all weekend.
Owen wasn't quite as interested in Chase, but boy does he have a lot of things to teach his little cousin once he can walk/run/climb!
Chase spent the rehearsal dinner in the arms of people who love him, like Uncle Timmy...
Daddy (who cheers-ed with milk)
Aunt Lisa
Uncle Matt
And, of course, Uncle Reverend Ray!
By Saturday afternoon, Chase had recovered from Friday and was ready for the wedding.
(This is one of my favorite pictures of Chase. Ever)
Since the wedding was scheduled right in the middle of Chase's naptime, we weren't surprised that he fell asleep in the car on the way to the ceremony.
Then the fire alarm went off (the bride and groom both swear they didn't pull it!) and we were moved outside. Chase was very awake after that.
Amelia was a great flower girl
And even stopped at the end of our aisle so her mommy could take her picture
And the bride looked beautiful in her red dress! (I'll put more pictures on Kodak Gallery and send them out)
Chase was very well-behaved. He was entertained by lots of people sitting behind us (thank you!) and quiet until he realized his voice echoed in the church. So we did a lot of bouncing and I whispered songs into his ear.
After the ceremony, Chase hung out with a babysitter while we all went to the reception. He was very good and was sleeping soundly when we got home.
But at 6:45am, he was ready to go again!
(his parents are still recovering)
Congratulations, David & Jen!
Chase's First Plane Ride
This past weekend Chase took his first plane ride so we could get up to Concord for David & Jen's wedding. Notoriously annoyed by the constraints placed on him by the car seat, Chase was so so happy to be free to move around and sit/stand on our laps, look around, and play on the plane.
For a variety of reasons, we flew JetBlue- not the least of which is their personal TVs. When Chase wasn't busy looking out the window, he stared at the TV (and we made an exception to our no-TV rule).
The timing worked out perfectly. Chase fell asleep when we pulled back from the gate and slept the entire time...
...that we sat on the runway. He woke up right before we took off and was great during the flight.
Luckily, our return flight (Chase's 2nd flight) went equally as well!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
We need your help
We need your help. Our friends, Sarah and Lalo's beautiful baby boy Lalo was born on September 15 and diagnosed with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia. Basically this means that his diaphragm did not fully form and his abdominal organs are growing into his chest cavity. After a long stay in the Johns Hopkins PICU and NICU, he is having surgery tomorrow (Thursday) to repair his hernia. As you probably guessed, this is major surgery.
We need your help praying for little Lalo and his parents. His surgery is tomorrow at 8:45am and should take 2 hours, but the recovery will take about a week. During that time, we need as many people as possible to send positive thoughts, vibes, and prayers for Lalo's health and strength. Every little bit of positive energy will help this little guy.
You can get updates on Baby Lalo here.
We need your help praying for little Lalo and his parents. His surgery is tomorrow at 8:45am and should take 2 hours, but the recovery will take about a week. During that time, we need as many people as possible to send positive thoughts, vibes, and prayers for Lalo's health and strength. Every little bit of positive energy will help this little guy.
You can get updates on Baby Lalo here.
Chase's Daytime Adventures
While in the last post I bemoaned being away from Chase all day, I've decided to focus on the positive. Namely, that we have a great nanny (Kayla) who loves Chase very much. She takes Chase and Harley out on an adventure every day and (best of all) texts me pictures of all of their fun. You gotta love technology.
Here he is in a swing for the first time. Kayla said he was smiling and laughing the whole time. She also took him down the slide, which he was unsure of at first, but he was smiling after a few rides down.
Here he is in Harley's ghost hat. Why are babies so cute in ridiculous hats? I love getting these smiley pictures in the afternoon.
Here he is with his best girl, Harley Mae. They look like siblings and Kayla gets asked a lot if they're hers--and how she does it with them only 12 months apart!
And the picture I just got today isn't the best quality, but the message it came with was exciting:
Here he is in a swing for the first time. Kayla said he was smiling and laughing the whole time. She also took him down the slide, which he was unsure of at first, but he was smiling after a few rides down.
Here he is in Harley's ghost hat. Why are babies so cute in ridiculous hats? I love getting these smiley pictures in the afternoon.
Here he is with his best girl, Harley Mae. They look like siblings and Kayla gets asked a lot if they're hers--and how she does it with them only 12 months apart!
Yesterday they went to story time at a new library where there were lots of babies Chase's age. He mades some friends.
And the picture I just got today isn't the best quality, but the message it came with was exciting:
"OMG he wanted to play with Harley so he rolled all the way to her."
Sounds like we've got a roller on our hands. Chase is on the move!
Even if I don't get to spend it with him, at least I get lots of updates and pictures to get me through the day. :-) Thanks, Kayla!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Motherhood- 5 months post-partum
I've been meaning to write this post for a long time. I want to put down in writing what it means to be a mom, all the challenges and demands, the many rewards, and only a few complaints. The thing is, it keeps changing. Once I figure out how to describe the something, it's changed. Even my complaints! I'm not going to pretend to know everything, but here they are- my 5 month 5 day post-partum thoughts on motherhood...
Chase is a part of me. The feeling of connection to Chase is so much more intense than I ever imagined it could be. My love is so strong it aches. When I'm with him, I want to hold him, play with him, kiss him. I want to explore the world though his eyes, see what he sees, and be there for the moments of recognition- that's my favorite toy, that's the song mommy sings that I love, that's my dog Mueller, that's delicious avocado....
When I'm not with him, I miss him so much that it hurts. I want to know what he's doing, whether he's okay, hoping that he's happy, and worrying that something will happen to him. It's literally like part of me is missing. I feel almost desperate to get home every night. My long weekend runs have topped out at abot 50 minutes because I can't stand to be away any longer than I "need" to be. We've been discussing going to a wedding without him next fall--a year from now-- but I cannot even think about being apart from Chase overnight.
His suffering is my suffering--his cold has been far worse for me than for him. All I want to do is to soothe him, to make him happy. Yet at the same time, I know that I cannot always soothe him or make him happy. He needs to grow up to be an independent child. One of the biggest challenges (that I'm only beginning to deal with) is not giving in to my instinct to give Chase everything when he cries. Worst of all, I have to give him the skills to not need me. My colleague Margaret, a mom of five (who is sadly moving back to Salt Lake City this week--we miss you already!), said that the paradox of motherhood was that God gives you this precious baby, and then your role is to give them the tools to go further and further away from you.
Being a working mom is HARD. Although it's gotten a little better, it is still very difficult to leave him every single morning. I know he's in good hands with Kayla, and he's definitely happy with her and Harley, but it kills me to leave him. I consider turning back every day. I can't bear to be without him. Not only do I miss him, but I feel so badly that I can't be there with him to explore, learn, and grow. My heart breaks when he does a first that I'm not there to witness. While I know I have to work and I love my job, it's emotionally draining to feel awful leaving Chase in the morning.
Going back to work has also been like an identity crisis. On one hand, I'm the same person who left (minus the big belly). My office looks the same, the same people are there (more or less), the same issues need my attention. But I'm not the same person- Now I'm a mom. And my number 1 priority is Chase. I feel a bit like a fraud. Because no matter how focused I am on something, how important it seems, or how committed to it I am, Chase is more important and I would drop everything if he needed me. I care more about my baby than old people. Does that make me a less valuable employee? How will motherhood impact my professional career? Do I need to overcompensate for the distractions that others expect me to have? These issues worry me--a sign that I still identify strongly with the career woman. On the other hand, I worry more that I'll only get a few hours a day with him for his entire childhood and that he'll miss out on things because I'm working. I don't know how I'll make it to his soccer/basketball/lacrosse/baseball games... Being a working mom is really, really hard.
There's a reason why the human body is built to have babies young. Pregnancy was cake compared to the physical demands of parenting. The bending, contorting my body to pick Chase up, squatting, climbing around baby gear, sitting on the floor and jumping up...these are only a few of the ways my body is being tested. And it's starting to hurt- my back has been aching. Who cares if you have to pee all the time when you're pregnant- at least you have the opportunity to go to the bathroom. That's not always the case after the baby is born! The sleepless nights are particularly difficult--I got more sleep in college! Of course I'm barely exercising (although holding on tightly to my 20-25 minutes of running) so I'm not in nearly the physical state I was even when Chase was just born.
My hair is falling out. Literally. Clumps of my hair come out every day. It's gross. Despite continuing to take prenatal vitamins, the drop in hormones is making my hair fall out. It's completely normal, but definitely caught me off guard. (Just warning your pregnant women!)
Marriage is truly a partnership. Our marriage has changed. Gone are the days when we'd spend a weekend doing nothing together. We don't indulge each other like we used to. We're not as affectionate as we used to be. Because of scheduling issues, we don't even talk as much during the day as we used. I thought Stephen and I worked well together before Chase was born, but I had no idea how much of a team we'd become. We both work to entertain/bathe/sooth Chase. We take turns watching him so the other one can do house or yard work. Stephen makes dinner while I feed Chase. When one of us has had a bad day, the other takes the baby so that person can relax a bit. We're in this together and Stephen truly is a great partner and an amazing father. I don't know how I could do this without him. Not matter how overwhelmed I feel, I know that he is there to support me and that together we can do it. And while it's less than it used to be, we still talk often, we are still affectionate, and we still indulge each other (once in a while). Our relationship is at a whole different level. We've gone from a couple to a family.
Knowing what I do now about all of these challenges and changes, would I have done anything different? Are you kidding me? I wouldn't trade this for anything in the world.
Chase is a part of me. The feeling of connection to Chase is so much more intense than I ever imagined it could be. My love is so strong it aches. When I'm with him, I want to hold him, play with him, kiss him. I want to explore the world though his eyes, see what he sees, and be there for the moments of recognition- that's my favorite toy, that's the song mommy sings that I love, that's my dog Mueller, that's delicious avocado....
When I'm not with him, I miss him so much that it hurts. I want to know what he's doing, whether he's okay, hoping that he's happy, and worrying that something will happen to him. It's literally like part of me is missing. I feel almost desperate to get home every night. My long weekend runs have topped out at abot 50 minutes because I can't stand to be away any longer than I "need" to be. We've been discussing going to a wedding without him next fall--a year from now-- but I cannot even think about being apart from Chase overnight.
His suffering is my suffering--his cold has been far worse for me than for him. All I want to do is to soothe him, to make him happy. Yet at the same time, I know that I cannot always soothe him or make him happy. He needs to grow up to be an independent child. One of the biggest challenges (that I'm only beginning to deal with) is not giving in to my instinct to give Chase everything when he cries. Worst of all, I have to give him the skills to not need me. My colleague Margaret, a mom of five (who is sadly moving back to Salt Lake City this week--we miss you already!), said that the paradox of motherhood was that God gives you this precious baby, and then your role is to give them the tools to go further and further away from you.
Being a working mom is HARD. Although it's gotten a little better, it is still very difficult to leave him every single morning. I know he's in good hands with Kayla, and he's definitely happy with her and Harley, but it kills me to leave him. I consider turning back every day. I can't bear to be without him. Not only do I miss him, but I feel so badly that I can't be there with him to explore, learn, and grow. My heart breaks when he does a first that I'm not there to witness. While I know I have to work and I love my job, it's emotionally draining to feel awful leaving Chase in the morning.
Going back to work has also been like an identity crisis. On one hand, I'm the same person who left (minus the big belly). My office looks the same, the same people are there (more or less), the same issues need my attention. But I'm not the same person- Now I'm a mom. And my number 1 priority is Chase. I feel a bit like a fraud. Because no matter how focused I am on something, how important it seems, or how committed to it I am, Chase is more important and I would drop everything if he needed me. I care more about my baby than old people. Does that make me a less valuable employee? How will motherhood impact my professional career? Do I need to overcompensate for the distractions that others expect me to have? These issues worry me--a sign that I still identify strongly with the career woman. On the other hand, I worry more that I'll only get a few hours a day with him for his entire childhood and that he'll miss out on things because I'm working. I don't know how I'll make it to his soccer/basketball/lacrosse/baseball games... Being a working mom is really, really hard.
There's a reason why the human body is built to have babies young. Pregnancy was cake compared to the physical demands of parenting. The bending, contorting my body to pick Chase up, squatting, climbing around baby gear, sitting on the floor and jumping up...these are only a few of the ways my body is being tested. And it's starting to hurt- my back has been aching. Who cares if you have to pee all the time when you're pregnant- at least you have the opportunity to go to the bathroom. That's not always the case after the baby is born! The sleepless nights are particularly difficult--I got more sleep in college! Of course I'm barely exercising (although holding on tightly to my 20-25 minutes of running) so I'm not in nearly the physical state I was even when Chase was just born.
My hair is falling out. Literally. Clumps of my hair come out every day. It's gross. Despite continuing to take prenatal vitamins, the drop in hormones is making my hair fall out. It's completely normal, but definitely caught me off guard. (Just warning your pregnant women!)
Marriage is truly a partnership. Our marriage has changed. Gone are the days when we'd spend a weekend doing nothing together. We don't indulge each other like we used to. We're not as affectionate as we used to be. Because of scheduling issues, we don't even talk as much during the day as we used. I thought Stephen and I worked well together before Chase was born, but I had no idea how much of a team we'd become. We both work to entertain/bathe/sooth Chase. We take turns watching him so the other one can do house or yard work. Stephen makes dinner while I feed Chase. When one of us has had a bad day, the other takes the baby so that person can relax a bit. We're in this together and Stephen truly is a great partner and an amazing father. I don't know how I could do this without him. Not matter how overwhelmed I feel, I know that he is there to support me and that together we can do it. And while it's less than it used to be, we still talk often, we are still affectionate, and we still indulge each other (once in a while). Our relationship is at a whole different level. We've gone from a couple to a family.
Knowing what I do now about all of these challenges and changes, would I have done anything different? Are you kidding me? I wouldn't trade this for anything in the world.
Babies
As I mentioned, two weekends ago we saw a bunch of friends with babies in New York. Joey & Meg had everyone over to their house for football, food, and Dad's birthday. Matt and Amy were up from VA with their two boy, AJ (2 years old) and Logan (4 months). Kelly and Scott were there with Jack (2 years old) and Matt and Kim (the OTHER Matt and Kim) were there with their baby Caleigh (7 months). Needless to say, there were a lot of babies and toddlers. Jack & AJ are so adorable and hilarious 2 year olds. They ran in circles chasing each other until they got sick...just a taste of what life will be like in 1 1/2 years!
Chase and Logan are only a month apart, so they had fun staring at each other.
Munson (only a year old himself) felt left out and wanted some tummy time with the boys...
Caleigh held it down as the only girl with her gorgeous big blue eyes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)