Two weeks of pictures for my 365

Sleepy boy! 5/10/08

As a friend once said: Real men wear pink! 5/9/08

Snug as a bug... 5/8/08

Who's wide awake in the middle of the night? 5/7/08

Awesome day at the park 5/6/08

Future babysitters 5/5/08

Playing on our very own playground 5/4/08

Multitasking 5/3/08

In my nursing throne 5/2/08

Proud Big Sister 5/1/08

Prou Mama and Daddy 4/30/08

Welcome to the world sweet boy! 4/29/08

Lots To Catch Up On

Wow, this has been a crazy week! When last we "spoke" it was my anniversary, I was looking forward to an actual date with my husband, and I really wished I could welcome our baby sooner rather than later. Well, we had a wonderful date. We went to my favorite pizza place in the world, ordered the best meatball pizza around, and followed it up with some of Cincinnati's best ice cream. For those who know about Cincinnati ice cream - we prefer Aglamesis to Graeter's. We were still home early enough to watch a movie with Katherine before heading to bed. It was a great anniversary!
Monday was relatively uneventful other than an increase in the number and intensity of the Braxton-Hicks contractions (which just put me in a bad mood). Katherine and I ran some errands, stopped at the Servati bakery for a cookie, and made our way home. We both napped for a while and I woke up ravenous for a good gyro. I told James that the baby needed a gyro so we packed up and went to a great local place that has apparently been there for over 40 years. It was AWESOME and the family that runs it the nicest people! Our waitress and I talked kids, pregnancies, etc. and she told me that a friend of hers came in for a gyro and was in labor 4 hours later - a thought which made me happy.
Well, by the time we attempted to go to bed I was having contractions 7-10 minutes apart. By 2:30am they were between 3 and 6 minutes apart and getting fairly uncomfortable. I called the doctor a little before 4am and she told us to go ahead to the hospital triage to see if I was actually in labor or not. We got there by 5:30 or so (after waking up our wonderful neighbors and getting someone to come down and be at the house while Katherine was still asleep). They monitored me for a while, told us to walk around that floor of the hospital for an hour, monitored me again, and were prepared to send me home.
God was with us because when we came back from our walk there had been a shift change for both the nurses at the hospital and the doctor on-call from my ob/gyn practice. Before sending us home the new nurse noted to the doctor that there were some slight decelerations in the baby's heart rate recorded. The doctor decided to play it safe and said that although that could be a result of absolutely nothing, he would admit me and break my water in an effort to get my contractions into a better pattern and get things moving with the birth. The doctor broke my water around 9:30am and at 3:59pm we welcomed Jack into the world!
We had a wonderful experience: great doctors, amazing nurses, just excellent care in general. James' parents came down to be with Katherine while we were in the hospital, arriving about 30 minutes after Jack was born. They took great care of Katherine, helping to make her transition a little easier. We came home Thursday around lunch to big hugs from Katherine. She is really excited to be a big sister!
We have enjoyed settling in as a brand new family of four. Friends and family have been absolutely wonderful wishing us well, visiting, bringing gifts, and bringing us food. We are so amazingly blessed! We are thankful for all of the gestures of love and friendship we have received. God bless you guys!
On another note, I created a family blog to post updates and pictures. So, if you are interested head over to http://thekanarynest.blogspot.com. Also, my version of project 365 officially began the day Jack was born (ha ha, taking the easy way out - who doesn't take pictures of a new baby?) so I will be posting a bunch from the last few days!

Anniversary Thoughts

Today is my 6th wedding anniversary. Some days I can't believe it has gone so quickly. Other days I feel like we've been married forever (mostly this is a good thing). I don't know if it is due to my impending anniversary or just because I am expecting kiddo #2 any day now and becoming introspective, but I have been thinking a lot the last week or so about what qualities I find attractive in a man. I am blessed to have found an amazing mate (husband, father, partner, believer) in James.

One of the many things I find incredibly attractive in my husband is his belief in babywearing. For those of you not well-acquainted with the term, check out http://www.thebabywearer.com/. Anyway, seeing a man hanging out solo with his children is extremely heart-warming to me. But, to see a grown man with no qualms about wearing his child really touches me. Whatever the type of carrier, that image really gets me going. Not only is my beloved comfortable with the concept of babywearing, he actively participates. One of my favorite memories of K's first few weeks in this world is James in the front yard raking leaves with K strapped to his chest.

In my opinion, a man's willingness to wear his child speaks volumes about the type of father he is willing to be. A friend of ours recently said that he wasn't sure how manly he felt wearing a sling, but he didn't care. I tried to assure him that it was attractive (to at least some women) to wear your children, but he still wasn't convinced it was quite "manly." Oh well, it may not be the hallmark of masculinity, but it is one of the things I find most attractive in a man.
Another attraction to my husband (also associated with his dedication to his child(ren)) relates to the task he is spending our anniversary accomplishing. He has enlisted the help of a friend of ours to dedicate a portion of our front lawn to K (and all of the neighbor kids). Months ago we had a friend help us hang a swing from the large tree in our front yard. The swing was not only a huge hit with K, but also many of the neighbor kids so a path has been worn under the swing where we are no longer able to grow grass. Instead of making futile attempts to re-seed, sod, or some other expensive effort my wonderful husband has decided that it would make more sense to lay a bed of playground mulch under the swing and around the tree to accomodate a small slide. Now, this may not seem like a huge sacrifice to some. However, pre-parenthood, my husband was known for actually mowing patterns into our lawn.
How sexy is it to see a man who has embraced fatherhood so completely that he risks not looking manly to wear his children and gives his front lawn over to a mini-playground!? Extremely...

Project 365

I found a great idea on another blog the other day. Take and post at least one picture every day for an entire year. To some that may not seem like a big deal, but with a very active 2 1/2 year old and a sibling for her expected any day, this feat will sometimes seem monumental. However, I have recently (really since getting pregnant again) gotten lax in the picture-taking department.



It was never more obvious than when visiting my husband's parents and looking at their "picture wall." They have devoted the entire side of their pantry cabinet to pictures of family and close friends. Miss K spent hours over the course of the week we were there looking at the photos, naming the people she recognized, and asking "is that me?"



I cringed inwardly as I searched for the limited pictures which contained her precious face...and it is entirely my fault! I just haven't taken many pictures lately and those that I have taken I haven't shared with my in-laws in a user-friendly manner. Thus, my brilliant idea - take the project 365 challenge and hope that it means I take and post more pictures of the kiddo(s).



So, my attempt will be to at least take a picture each day and hopefully post almost every day.

For Tricia

OK, so I am very far behind on this because I am just catching up on Nathan and Tricia's story.

There has been a challenge on Nathan's blog for all blogging mothers. To Post all of the things you can't wait for Tricia to experience with Gwyneth. To get caught up and understand who Tricia, Nathan and Gwyneth are please visit Nathan's website! http://www.cfhusband.blogspot.com/

Nathan and Tricia, I have a 2 1/2 year old beautiful little girl and am awaiting the arrival of our second child any day now. CF runs in my family, but I am not a carrier. So, you guys are especially close to my heart!

The things I can't wait for Tricia to experience:
Gwyneth's first true belly laugh,
Hearing the hysterically random things that come out of Gwyneth's mouth as she develops an understanding of the english language,
Watching Gwyneth develop her first "best friend,"
Seeing Gwyneth's excitement as she does something for the first time "all by myself,"
Taking Gwyneth trick-or-treating for the first time,
Watching Gwyneth develop individual relationships with her grandparents,
...and so much more!

This list is so short in comparison to the amazing things (large and small) that will be heartwarming, frustrating, humbling, and unexplainably wonderful about raising a child.

Your story is an inspiration and your faith is humbling. My prayers are with you.
- Katrina

Get Out And Vote

...even if you have to take your uncooperative 2yo with you. I would like to think that by including K in the process of voting is planting a seed on some level. Far too few people take advantage of our constitutional right to vote. With a father who majored in political science and a mother who is an attorney I hope that K will grow up with an appreciation for not only our right to vote, but also the importance of educating yourself and actually getting to the polls to vote.

Luckily our newest polling place is our church, so it is a place that she and I are both familiar with. As we drove to the church she asked, "Mommy, where are we going at." I explained that we are going to church so that I could vote - a concept completely lost on her, I realize. I do hope that adding the word vote to her vocabulary is at least a start. The conversation continued like this:
K: Going to vote?
Me: Yes, I have to vote.
K: I don't want you to go, I love you so much. (seriously, she says this at the cutest, most random times lately)
Me: I'm not leaving, you are coming with me.
K: I can come with you?
Me: Of course!

We parked, walked into the church, found the appropriate room, and were directed to the table where my precinct was checking in. Luckily our time in line (however brief) was made easier by running into a neighbor from across the street who was also there to vote. I showed my ID, signed the log book, and was directed to the end of the table to pick up my ballot. The very nice man at the end of the table first gave K a sticker, then passed one to me as well. She expertly took the backing off of the "I Voted" sticker and placed it on the front of her shirt (she was pretty excited about the sticker).

Of course at that point she began to wander. I did the best I could to keep her close by while listening to the man explain how to fill out my ballot (instructions I did not need, but listened to politely) and where to put it when I was finished. I was able to coax her over to one of the voting booths, but she was quickly frustrated that she couldn't see what was on the table or what I was doing. Frustration which she quickly voiced quite loudly while trying to climb up my leg (not an easy task since I am 8 months pregnant). By the time she was ready to bolt across the room, our neighbor was finished with his ballot so he scooped her up (despite her loud protests) while I completed the ballot.

...sidenote on the ballot...it is a primary election so of the 18 categories in which someone actually declared themselves for one party or the other, only one category included more than one name. So, this amounted to a frustrating session of color-in-the-box where only three of my choices (presidential candidate and two tax levy issues) actually matter since everyone else was unopposed within the party so I only had one choice of box to fill. Fun stuff. OK, end of rant...

Finally, K cried enough that our neighbor set her down beside me and she promised not to run away (thank goodness he has kids and understands). Then, we walked over to the machine where I inserted my ballot for it to be read electronically.

Whew, thus ended K's first experience at the polls! Our church has an indoor kids play area so we spent the next 45 minutes with K running around Kid City, introducing herself to complete strangers, and quickly calling them her friends. I love that she is so comfortable with herself that she has no qualms approaching and introducing herself to a kid she has never seen before or joining a group of kids running around, saying "hey guys, wait a me." SO cute. Luckily that overly-friendly nature doesn't extend to adult strangers (or sometimes even to adults she knows).

That friendly nature was curtailed a bit today when one of the little girls she was following around took to growling at K. She panicked and ran full-speed to where I was sitting, climbing into my lap, saying "I'm scared." I tried to convince her that the little girl was just being silly, but the girl continued to growl at her (I think she liked to see K's reaction) so she ran back to me every time it happened. I didn't think much of it until we were back in the car and K started talking to me in a grumpy, growly voice (almost sounding mad). My first thought was, great, a new trick. Hopefully this won't be a new addition to her habits. I guess I'll have to get used to her picking up habits from other kids.

My new favorite blog to frequent...

In the last year (since taking the bar exam and an increase in K's ability to play independently both allowed more time to be somewhat free) I have become addicted to several parenting blogs.
My new favorite is one called How to be a Badass Dad. Although I am probably not his target audience I thoroughly enjoy his posts. He is so insightful and writes beautifully (as an English Professor should). I have forwarded several posts to my husband to either show him that there are other sensitive dads out there doing their best to put their family first - or - to show him that there are men out there willing to live their lives the way that is best for their families, regardless of what others think or say. My husband is a great catch so this is more to bolster his confidence than anything else.

One of my favorite posts from Badass Dad is The Breastfeeding Father. I can't tell you how heartwarming it is to hear the thoughts of a father who so utterly and completely supports his wife and her breastfeeding relationship with their children. Breastfeeding can often be a touchy issue for some fathers, especially if their own families weren't completely pro-breastfeeding. In my current very pregnant state, this particular post made me quite misty-eyed. I know that my husband will be less intimidated by breastfeeding with our second child, now that we have become more comfortable and confident in our personal parenting styles and what is right for our family.

Closely related to my views on the importance of breastfeeding, are my views on baby-wearing. Badass Dad also has a recent post on babywearing. Again, to see a father so comfortable with his manhood to willingly wear his babies makes me a bit teary. It reminds me of my own husband with our first child strapped to him, raking the front lawn when she was a few weeks old. Our neighbors (mostly parents 5-10 years older than us) cracked up. Or there was the holiday party we attended when K was 2 months old where my husband spent the majority of the evening with her once again strapped to his chest, only taking breaks when it was time for me to retreat to a bedroom upstairs to nurse or change her diaper. Our friends quickly became accustomed to one of us wearing K most of the time and rarely using babysitters early on.

K obviously remembers riding in the sling, front carrier, or backpack. When I was newly pregnant this time around I purchased one of those belly band things to extend the life of my pre-pregnancy pants. As I sit here writing I glanced over to my Google gagdet bar docked on the side of my screen and there is a picture of K with my belly band over one shoulder and across her body, "wearing" Cookie Monster in a perfectly toddler-sized "sling." Hoping to make her transition into sisterhood a little easier I bought a toddler sling for her to carry her "baby" in. I hope to give it to her when her new sibling arrives.

Thanks to Badass Dad for sending me down memory lane and getting me misty-eyed in reflection. I'm excited to venture onto the next phase of parenting with the arrival of #2 and truly appreciate the parents out there who pour their hearts into their blogs for others to read and benefit from!