october comes and goes

Time is zooming by and it's hard to even find enough time to get a haircut or scrub the toliet, let alone post on the blog. But this post isn't going to be about the fact that I'm never able to post, no sir, it's going to be about all of the new and exciting things happening in my life.

I love my son. More than anything. He is the best thing ever.

it's been a long time, a long lonely time

I am in shock that it's been a whole month and I haven't found time to post on the 'ol blog. Things are nuts! This school year is by far the busiest and most stressed I've been since I've started teaching. There are all of these new changes at the school, which is creating a busy day for me. Not to mention trying to squeeze in pumping every three hours. Actually, Damon is usually able to come by with Emmett so I can feed him, which is a billion times better than pumping. I had no idea being a working mom can be so tough. I have a new appreciation for all working moms, especially single ones (like my mother-in-law). I can't imagine.

The big news over here in the Green-Todd household are---TEETH! Last week when my mom was here caring for Emmett while Damon was in Chicago, she spotted E's first tooth. And today you can clearly see the second tooth right next to the first. Baby has been a little more cranky over the last few days since he's teething, but really, not too bad. Emmett made the mistake of biting me once while nursing. He'll never do that again. If you look very closely in this picture, you can see the begining of the first tooth (this pic was taken last week.)

busy

Ugh. Things have been a little nuts on this end for the last few weeks. Our trip to Clear Lake was fun, although I think that we realized that our little guy is now very keen to his surroundings and can't just sleep anywhere anymore. We had a rough couple of days when we got there, with him waking every two hours. He settled into more of a normal routine, only to do the same waking business when we returned home. I think we are now back in a groove with one very short waking per night. I am trying to ween him off of the night feeding gradually by pulling him off the boob after shorter intervals of time. We are down to about 10 minutes, then I put him in his crib with his monkey and he falls back asleep on his own. Actually, he has been great with all sleeping and is able to put himself to sleep for naps as well. He needs to have his monkey (Blah-Blah) and all is good.

As for me, I somewhat returned to work last week. It was informal meetings and setting up the classroom and next week is the real deal--8:00-4:00, meetings all day. It was a nice transitional week, as my schedule was more flexible and I was able to run home for a feeding or to relieve Damon to run an errand. I was very emotional and cranky the first few days and I know all of this is going to take some getting used to. I am so lucky that it's Damon staying at home with Emmett and that we live so close to my work, but I am also incredibly jealous and wish we could all be at home together. I am also very excited to be returning to a job that I really love and this year is going to be even more special as Belinda is working with me in the same classroom. One added bonus of working with Belinda is that the pumping at work thing won't be as complicated as it could be if I shared the room with a stranger. Lucky Belinda, gets to see me in my double-pumping corset bra. Very sexy.

portland and new favorite toy

Emmett and I just returned from a short visit up in the Pacific Northwest. We flew up to visit Angela, Scott and Tyler and had a great visit. Tyler and Emmett became fast friends and Tyler was sweet as can be, showing Emmett how to push buttons on his toys and making E giggle. Tyler even gave Emmett his new favorite toy--this beach ball. He loves it and it's pretty stinkin adorable how he uses his hands and feet to play with it. He looks like a little monkey baby. Anyhow, we had a fabulous time and the only bummer was, I forgot my camera, so hopefully Angela will pass along her pictures.

Today Emmett is five months old. I can't believe how fast time is going by. Plus, Damon's last day in the office is Friday! I am so excited for him. Next week we go on our last vacation of the summer. Good times will be had. Then it will be back to work for me--ugh.

oompa loompa

happy baby pose

Emmett can finally strike the "happy baby pose". I remember months ago hanging out with Christine and Theo when Theo grabbed his feet with his hands. I thought to myself, "I cannot wait until Emmett can do this adorable pose. I want to eat him up when he does it. But it does make changing diapers more difficult.

back from NYC

We returned home from the Big Apple late Sunday night. We had a wonderful time and it was great to see many of our dear friends. Emmett was fabulous for the trip and plane ride. On the way out, he slept/played/ate the entire trip, not even fussing. On the way home, he was a pretty good sport, considering we sat on the tarmac for three hours before our six hour flight. He cried for a solid hour, and we were trying everything in our bag of tricks to calm him down. He wouldn't take the boob, bouncing in our seats wasn't working...it was very frustrating and I had to sit there and look back on the incident and remember all of the times I got pissed or rolled my eyes at people with screaming babies on flights...anyhow, after an hour of crying, I finally just laid him down on the pillow across our laps, and he just stopped, stared at the lights a bit, and put himself to sleep right before take off and slept the entire flight. It obviously could have been much worse.

I won't go into detail about our trip, since Damon covered most of it on his blog except to say that my conference was really great and I am so excited to change things up in my classroom in the fall. Belinda got to go to the conference too, and I am thrilled that she will be working along side me in the classroom. How crazy and how lucky we are!

So we are back home, enjoying our foggy summer days in SF. I know work is on the horizon, which I have mixed feelings about. I am thrilled that Damon will be able to at home with Emmett, but I know I am really going to miss my days with him. I wish it were possible for both of us to stay home for a year (or more), but I realize we are pretty lucky that we get to swing Damon staying home, even if it gets us more into debt.

play date with theo and catching poop

Pretty exciting week over here at the Green-Todd household. Theo and his mummy Christine came over yesterday for a little play date. Theo is seriously one of the cutest babies ever to live and so sweet. That is why this picture is so funny. It looks like Theo is clocking E in the face, but really he was just grabbing his nose (nobody got hurt). Christine has been a huge support for me as a new mom, since she's a professional and has done all of this before. I feel really lucky to have her friendship.

On another note, I got Emmett to poop in the potty for the first time. I know that doesn't sound too exciting to most folk, but I sure was thrilled. Damon has really been working on catching a poop, but it seems that E usually goes while he is nursing in the middle of the day, which makes it hard for Damon to witness. So the other day, I was playing with the little one, and he started making noises down south so I thought I'd give it a try. I undressed him, put him on the pot, said "kaka" (Damon's trigger word), and gently pushed his tummy. It worked like a charm and was one less cloth diaper to clean!

We are preparing for our big trip to NYC this weekend. I am really looking forward to seeing everyone in NYC (Laura, Lesley, Sal, Enrique...), and it will be fun to have friends from here to play with too (Luisa, Belinda, Nick..a few other teachers from work).I hope E does well on the flight and adjusting to the time difference. Send us good thoughts!

roll over!

Emmett just rolled over for the first time today. I was starting to worry that he's never do it. He would be 15 years old and call for me in the middle of the night to help him roll from his tummy to his back. Well, this morning for naked tummy time, he rolled over three times! I captured most of the third roll on film. I'm sure his future partner will get a laugh out of this one someday.

love

"Emmett and Augie, sittin' in a tree..."

new equipment

Okay, I thought that the bouncy chair was ugly, but this new piece of equipment takes the cake in the ugly bakery. It's bold, lights up and I think somehow makes "music" but thankfully I think the batteries are dead. It's called an exersaucer and supposedly the babies love it. I was looking for something so that Emmett can be upright since the back of his head is getting a little flat from lying on it all of the time. He's a little small for it, so I have to use blankets to prop him up. He does seem to like it and yesterday when I put him in it for the first time, he was throwing his head back laughing, which is pretty darn cute. Damon almost had a heart attack when he saw it--he's anti-plastic/polyester/fun, but hopefully he'll see how much E likes it and he'll stop judging.

Speaking of Damon, I know he's going to kill me for writing this, but he had a job interview and demo lesson yesterday for a physics teaching position. They LOVED him and offered him the job the same day. He's working out the logistics, but I'm pretty proud of him. The lesson he did was great and he is so clear and patient when explaining new concepts (even to someone as physically challenged as myself). He is going to be a great teacher. He's so smart and cute and funny (sort of), and although he's a hippie, I feel pretty lucky that he's my baby daddy.

Granny Janny visits

Grandma Jan came to town for a few days and it was great to have her here to help out with Emmett. He adores her and is all smiles when she is around. Plus, he bought him this cute outfit! Emmett misses you, Granny Janny!

monkey love

Emmett loves his new special monkey friend.

weekend fun

We had some more "firsts" this weekend with lil' Em. Friday night, Godparents (or whatever we call them) Belinda and Nick graciously babysit so we could go out and pretend like we are normal adults. We went to dinner at Pauline's Pizza in the Mission, and we were seated right next to a little baby about Emmett's age. No escaping. Saturday we met up with friends in the park (picture of Emmett in red is from that excursion), and Sunday evening, Emmett attended his first wedding. He was very well behaved, only starting to fuss right when the ceremony was about to begin. Lucky for Damon (seriously), since he was holding Emmett in the Ergo carrier, he stepped out of the room, only to not be allowed back in for the entire wedding. So I got to sit by myself, in the very back row, not able to see or hear two people I don't know get married. Did I mention the ceremony was over an hour long? Once Emmett ate and was changed, he fell asleep on me in the carrier and was quite a sport during dinner, not stirring even once. Five hours later, we headed home. Emmett looked pretty darn cute in his new wedding outfit. Too bad no one could see it since he was in the carrier so long. The other picture of him in said outfit was taken when we got home at the end of the night. He was beginning to melt down.

mr. big boy

I remember when Emmett was a little baby, all wrinkly, grumpy, and jaundiced. Now he is a big three-month old, with a big boy stroller, wearing 3-6 month old clothing, in size 2 diapers (for traveling), and smiling at everything. I also remember when Emmett slept all the time, had a quiet cry, and was so light I could carry him around all day. My, how quickly things change.

hanging with the boyz

Emmett and I have been having a great time together and we structure our daily routines and have fun with friends. Last week, we drove over to Marin to hang out at Anne's mom's house for fun in the sun. Emmett and his two friends, Augie and Ethan, spent some quality time avoiding each other's gaze (see pic, Emmett is on the far right). We sure supposed to take the babies swimming in the pool, but between lunch and nap time, we never made it into the water. We will be returning this weekend with husbands and now Emmett will be prepared as he is now the proud owner of his first diaper-lined speedo. I am glad that Damon will be part of Emmett's first swim.

I can't wait for all of my teacher friends to be finished with school. It is very strange to hear them talk of the end of the school year and for me not to be part of it. I must say, I am pretty darn happy not to be writing progress reports. But I do miss that end of the year excitement/anxiety of wrapping up the year. This is the first time in eleven years of teaching, not to be part of the finale, and by far the longest I have gone without working (not counting summer time) since I started working when I was 14 years old. Crazy.

Have I mentioned how much I love my baby? I feel like we have such a love affair going on right now. We can just sit for long spells of time staring and smiling at each other. I'm sure every new parent goes through this, but it is completely astounding that Damon and I somehow made this fabulous little person. Every day he becomes more animated and aware. He is already so independent, too. He often prefers laying on a blanket or in his chair to being held. He still interacts with us this way, but it seems like he just likes being able to take in everything around him. What a trip this ride is.

Auntie Laura Visits

Auntie Laura is here from NYC to see Emmett, and he's pretty happy about it. Laura just finished grad school at NYU and we are spending the long weekend celebrating and spending quality time with the little one. We only wish Auntie Lesley was here too.

Have we mentioned how hot it is here in SF? Emmett cruises around town wearing only a diaper. How embarrassing.

chubby cheeks

We had a nice, relaxing time in Tahoe. Emmett got to be admired by all of his grandparents and we got to enjoy time in a huge, comfy house. While Damon was at his conference, Emmett and I took walks, read books, took naps, and watched each other eat. Pretty exciting stuff. Here is a little video I shot of him while in Tahoe. It must be hard to smile with such chubby cheeks.

playdates & marches

Emmett has had some fun times this week with his friends, Augie and Ethan. The three of them hung out on Tuesday for "new moms group" and then again on Thursday for lunch at Tartine then a protest march in Dolores Park for May Day. Today was a pretty tiring day as well, as Emmett and I met Anne and Augie in Dolores Park once again for 9am Baby Boot Camp. Let me tell you, it was quite a work out and I fear that tomorrow I won't be able to walk. Baby Boot Camp is pretty cool for moms. You bring your baby in a stroller to a local park and a trainer leads you through butt-kicking exercises to help you get back into shape (or in my case, into shape period). Anne and I are going to try to do this twice/week and it's a good motivator to have someone to meet, that way I'm less likely to flake out.

Tomorrow night is the big auction event for my school and Damon and I are really looking forward to going. The theme this year is 80's and Damon has a great costume idea (which I won't reveal--he loves his secrets), so I just need to get something to wear. Belinda and I have a date to shop downtown tomorrow, so Damon and Emmett finally get to spend some quality time together. I am a little concerned about going to this event and having my boobs leak milk all over. I'm not sure what I am going to do, as the only breast pump I have is a huge backpack that needs to be plugged in, and I'm not about to schlep that along and pump in front of all of those parents. Hopefully I'll be okay, seeing that Emmett slept for seven hours today while we ran around town, and my boobs were full, but manageable.

We are off to Tahoe for four days on Sunday. Damon has a work conference and Emmett and I are going to join him. We are renting a sweet house and my parents are even meeting us for a night. It will be great to see them and have my dad finally meet Emmett. It's all about short vacations these days.

a new record!

Last night was amazing. Emmett slept for 12 hours, waking only once for 30 minutes for a quick diaper change and feed. The first shift was 7-3, which, if you count on your fingers, is EIGHT HOURS straight. It was pretty nice except for the fact it was so early in the evening that we couldn't think of hitting the hay ourselves. I thought for sure that E would be up before midnight, so around 9:30, I went to bed and was completely astonished when I heard him fussing and looked at the clock that read 3am. The only drawback to this entire situation is that Damon has spent only about 20 minutes in the last 30+ hours with an awake Emmett, which makes me very sad. I can't wait until Damo's work situation changes and we can all be spending more q.t. together.

To continue this boast of our amazing kid, I had to go to work today to watch a demo lesson and interview someone and had to bring Emmett along. I was very nervous because I didn't want him exposed to cooties at the school, but I also don't want to be that overly paranoid parent who freaks when someone touches their kid. The demo lesson was in my classroom, and the first graders have yet to meet the little one, so I thought the whole morning was going to be chaos. I decided to carry Emmett in the Ergo carrier, so I could protect him from kids sticking their dirty little hands in his face. I did bring along the stroller, but parked it in the office in case the baby started to freak out. The secretaries keep offering to watch him while I interview--so sweet. Anyhow, Emmett slept for the two and a half hours that I was there. I was able to catch up with everyone, interview two people and hire one for an assistant job, watch the demo, introduce Emmett to my class, and have a short meeting. Plus, nobody touched him (except his feet, which stick out from the carrier, but he had socks on). All in all, I must say I have an amazing 8 week old. Plus, now that he is on such a great sleep schedule (day & night), he is all smiles when he is awake. I sure love this kid.

Sleep on the Mind

Yesterday I went to the new mom's support group for the third time. It's helpful to be around other women who are in the same place. We usually go around, introduce ourselves and our baby, then ask a question that has been on our minds. When it comes to be my turn, I usually have to make something up or rack my brain to think of a problem we are having. Yesterday I brought up the nap/sleeping routine. Emmett has been doing good at night, swaddled in the co-sleeper. He also naps good, but usually it is either in our arms, the sling, the stroller, or his bouncy seat, never in his bed. So it turns out, we need to start putting him down to nap in his bed, at least once/day to get him used to the idea. So today, I've already put him down twice in the co-sleeper. The first time, he feel right asleep and the second, he protested a bit, but is now sleeping soundly. I am told he should nap every 1 1/2-2 hours. That kid sure does sleep a lot. Damon is fantastic in the middle of the night and I feel like our night time routine is working well. Usually, Emmett goes to sleep around 9 or 10pm, wakes around 2 or 3am, Damon changes him and brings him to me to feed in bed for about 20 or 30 minutes, then I put him back down to repeat this process again around 6:30am. As I am writing this, I am thinking that I am totally jinxing our "routine" and I'm sure the whole thing will be thrown out the window in a couple of days. The white noise machine seems to help us all get a better night's rest too. As you can see, sleep is a focus with babies (or more with tired parents), and I learned from my group that some babies wake every 1.5hours and other sleep eight hours straight (very unusual). I feel like we've had it pretty easy so far. Yesterday after group, three of us moms went to a nearby cafe for a beer! Next week we have a date that resembles life pre-baby.

Here is a sweet video of E awake and happy. Please ignore the ANNOYING noises I am making in attempt to get him to smile. Keep in mind I spend my whole day with baby...

funny looking hair

Emmett is losing his hair. Only in the front. It now is more like fuzz in the front and still dark hair in the back. Don't get me wrong, he is still adorable and cute as pie, but he looks a little more like John McEnroe (as our pediatrician noted) each day.

vibrators

Emmett loves his vibrating chair. A lot. When Angela first gave it to us, I considered getting rid of it, due to the fluorescent jungle animals and plastic musical attachment. She insisted, however, that I keep it around, "just in case". Well, she never could have been more right. Emmett loves being held by mum and dad, but it seems when he gets overly tired, or he just wants to chill out and soak in his surroundings, he prefers the vibrating chair (with said plastic attachment unattached). I feel a little guilty putting him in it, since we are doing our best with "attachment parenting", but I must say, I am able to shower and write the occasional blog post because of this chair. I read somewhere that a child's IQ increases if they are able to stay peacefully awake and observe the world around them, and that is such the case with Emmett. I worried that he is turning a little anti-social, but he does still like to be held. I hang out with him in front of the chair and talk to him and read him the New Yorker. I guess no matter what your child does, you always question if you are doing the right thing for him/her and hope you aren't screwing them up for life.

On a different note. Emmett laughed at me for the first time yesterday. Why, you might ask, did I not capture this precious moment on film (or digital camera)? Well, the circumstances were as follows: I was changing E's diaper and he was buck naked when he started pooping some more. I was fumbling for another diaper to put under him so that poop didn't go everywhere. When he was finished, I wiped him up and that is when he started to laugh. It was pretty funny, and I had to laugh too. I guess he enjoyed seeing mom squirm and juggle everything under his behind. That little bugger! Plus, I think he just enjoys a good b.m. Like father, like son.

BFF

Here is a cute picture of Belinda and Emmett along with a pic of Emmett and Augie. Augie is two days older than Emmett. They like to hang out during the week. Augie tells funny jokes.

mr. cuddles

This week is spring break for us teacher folk, but seeing that I am on maternity leave, it is like any other week, except better because my friends are off! I am getting a sneak preview of summer time--long walks in the sunshine, hanging out in the park, leisurely lunches in the Mission, a glass of wine in the late afternoon (just one!) and nap time on the sofa. This is just what I did yesterday with Belinda, Allie and Sabina. When we returned to my house, we passed Emmett around for cuddle-naps. It is pretty intoxicating to have Emmett lay on your chest and sleep and I think Allie may have went straight home to make a baby of her own.

Today we are heading to the pediatrician for Emmett's check up. I can't wait to see how much he weighs and how long he is. He is already outgrowing some of his clothes.

Damon told me I need to stop saying how cute Emmett is. People don't want to hear a baby's mother talk about how precious her child is (but he is!).

long hiatus

I am sure that nobody in still reading this blog, especially since Damon showed me up with his fancy, longer length, more descriptive, nicely written blog. But whateves. I know I write stuff and don't even re-read it for typos or spelling or grammatical errors. That is how I roll. But I just thought I'd give me little two cents on how life is going with little Emmett.

My days are full of Emmett. The only time when he's not on me, or at least in the same room as me, is when Damon takes him to the couch for sleep. For some reason, Emmett is able to sleep much longer periods on the couch with dad than when I'm around. I must be like an oven full of freshly baked cookies to him. Anyhow, there have been a couple of 5+ hour nights between feedings, which have been nice for me. I am not able to really nap with him during the day (which is a big surprise, as I am a seasoned napper pre-Emmett). But all in all, I'm not feeling too sleep deprived. I have my moments in the afternoons, but I'm feeling pretty good.

Yesterday, Emmett smiled at me for the first time. He smiles in his sleep all of the time, but on this one, he was wide awake. It was an especially sweet moment because we were sitting on the couch and I had just read an upsetting email and was feeling pretty blue. I started to tell Emmett about it, and he just looked up at me with a huge grin. He instantly made me feel 1000% better. What a great little guy.

Okay, that is all I have in me. Hopefully I can start to update more regularly. Let me know if you are still reading this. It might motivate me...

meet emmett!

Emmett Foster Green Todd was born Wednesday, March 5 at 8:49am! We are thrilled to have him here and are enjoying every moment with him. He weighed 7lbs 13oz and was 20" long. Damon wrote a very detailed account of the labor and delivery on his new blog, cutely titled, "Papa Green": www.papagreen.blogspot.com

I am still recovering from the whole event. I will be excited to feel good again and to have my body healed. Ouch. They weren't kidding when they said it might hurt a bit.

3cm and counting

I went to the doctor yesterday and she informed me that I am 3cm dilated! She thinks this baby could come sooner rather than later. I am feeling very excited about the arrival. It's weird to go about your daily business thinking something could happen at any time. Damon and I have a few more things to take care of this weekend, so we could certainly use a couple more days. But the hospital bag is now packed, the car seat installed, and it's my last day of work today. Things are happening down below--movements and little pains, so something has definitely changed....we'll keep you updated, if anyone is still even reading this blog these days.

down to business

Okay, I have 20 days left until my due date, and according to Dr. Fang, this baby looks like it could come early. Our "to-do" lists are slowly getting checked off, so I'm feeling much better about that. Except I've been horribly sick for the last 12 days, and this cold has finally turned into a sinus infection. Let me tell you, 37 weeks pregnant with a sinus infection is no fun (just ask anyone who has called and I've taken the opportunity to complain to). I started taking antibiotics, so hopefully I'm on the road to recovery. I've had this week off, and I have only left the house on a few occasions. Luckily, I have the best friends in the world and Allie and Belinda have been coming by to feed, entertain, and listen to me complain. They even cleaned the kitchen. Next week is my last week of work, so I'd better be feeling better by then. I want to end on a good note, not a cranky one.

So, I guess I've started dilating, which is common. The baby has dropped a bit, making me have to pee even more. We took our child birthing class last weekend and we have two more classes next week. Damon has been so nice to me, especially while I've been sick, and we've spent the evenings on our new couch watching rented episodes of "The Wire". We are somewhat obsessed with this show now, and I am having weird baby-cop dreams because of it.

As you can see from the pictures, the baby's room is coming along quite nicely. Belinda and Luisa came over last weekend and took care of business and the only thing we are waiting on is the dresser/changing table to arrive. The room is adorable the the pictures that Belinda painted are beautiful. I feel so so lucky to be surrounded by wonderful friends and am thrilled that they are going to be helping us raise this child. Soon. In less than three weeks. Yikes!

sister jezebel

Here is a picture of Sister Jezebel performing the baby's blessing. I meant to include this in the last post.

Pretty sweet, eh?

happenings

Ugh! There has been a lot going on during the last several weeks since I've updated this blog. Too much, really to get into it all, so I'll just highlight the important facts. Our "pre-baby party" happened on January 19th and it was a fabulous event. Belinda planned the entire thing and the LGBT center was decorated beautifully and was full of all of the wonderful people we adore. Laura and Lesley made it out from NYC, both of our moms were present, Angela and her family made it down, along with all of our dearest SF friends. I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful celebration. Allie even had the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence bless our unborn baby, and it was truly a San Francisco event unlike no other. The after-shower party at The Mint ended the evening in karaoke splendor. Many thanks to everyone for making this a very special day for us.

The day after the shower, we prepared to leave for Susanville to attend my grandmother's funeral. This winter has indeed been a time of loss in many ways, and I grandma was one of the most important people in my life. She played a huge role in raising my sister and me, and she will sorely be missed. After a long battle with Parkinson's and cancer, she passed away on January 11th. I am glad that she is no longer suffering and I take pleasure in picturing Jackson sitting on grandma's lap somewhere in my mind.

Pregnancy continues to progress smoothly, although life is getting much more difficult. I think I experienced Braxton Hicks contractions for the first time last night (all I know is that I was in pain, and a knowledgeable mother told me that must have been what it was). Sleeping is tough, as is walking and getting dressed. It's hard to believe we only have 5 more weeks to go. I had a dream over the weekend that we were having a girl. Not sure what that means...

Last week, I had a minor freak out after seeing the film The Business of Being Born It is a documentary about hospital vs. home births and it made me feel like we are making a huge mistake with going to a hospital (especially one with a high c-section rate, like CPMC). Most of my fears have subsided and it made Damon and I realize we are really going to have to advocate for what we want during this birth. I haven't thought too much about the actual act of delivery yet, but I'm looking forward to taking our birthing class next weekend. I don't feel too freaked out about things (yet) and I really want to continue to have faith in myself that I can do this.

Okay, that is all I can get out for now. I need to eat or sleep. Here's to a new regime change in Washington. Hope y'all voted!

trying on parenthood

So the goods are starting to roll in. Many friends and parents at the school have been offering up their baby hand-me-downs and we are accepting. Yesterday we got a crib, backpack, high chair, and a few other random things. Damon has enjoyed trying them out with his guinea pig, Malcolm, who is quite a sport. They trotted around the house all evening with Malcolm in the backpack. We also received a super-nice fancy Bugaboo stroller from our friends. We are pretty lucky. We just need to find storage for all of these items. Damon also painted what will be the baby's room as well, and it looks good (in photo). Next weekend is the shower and I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone and having a little fun. Things have been pretty heavy around here for the last couple of weeks, and I am looking forward to focusing and preparing during these 8.5 weeks that are left until the baby arrives. I am still feeling pretty good, but heavy.

it's getting bigger all the time...

30 weeks and 4 days....

goodbye jackson

The best kitty in the whole world died on Friday, December 28th. Jackson was at least 13 years old and this day was the saddest, most heartbreaking day I have ever experienced. I will miss him incredibly. He was loving and devoted and we had a very special connection. I felt he really understood me and he used to lick the tears off of my face when I was sad. Goodbye, J.J. You will forever live in my heart.